Former Kaizer Chiefs defender Aden McCarthy has reacted after scoring his first goal for Sabah FK in the UEFA Champions League, albeit in a 2-1 defeat to German giants Borussia Dortmund.
The 22-year-old centre-back, who joined the Azerbaijani side at the start of the season from Amakhosi, rose to head home in the 39th minute to make it 1-1 after Serhou Guirassy had opened the scoring for Dortmund.
Guirassy’s second goal in the 53rd minute sealed the win for the Bundesliga side at the Baku Olympic Stadium in Azerbaijan on Tuesday night. McCarthy, making his third consecutive start in the competition, was named a starter at centre-back alongside Steve Solvet and played the full 90 minutes.
Despite the loss, the South African defender was proud to get off the mark for his new club and believes his side proved they can compete with Europe’s elite.
‘ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE’ – ADEN MCCARTHY
“It just shows that these things are possible no matter who you come up against. The ball is round. Anything is possible. So as long as you put yourself in there in those positions to score, it can happen,” McCarthy said.
“And I showed it tonight [Tuesday]. I never expected to score. I don’t plan for these things, but it just happened in the moment so I’m very happy.”
The defender, who made 31 appearances for Chiefs last season before completing his move to Sabah FK in June, admitted his side improved from their previous Champions League outing but felt regret after failing to take a point.
“You could see that we can also play against those [big European] teams. We improved from game to game. Our game was definitely better than against Slavia [SK Slavia Prague],” he added.
“So on one hand we are very happy that we can compete, so it gives us also more confidence for the next game. But overall the regret is really big that we couldn’t get at least one point here.”
McCarthy’s first goal since his move and his consistent appearances in the Champions League could now put him firmly on the radar for Bafana Bafana, with the promising defender pushing to be part of Pitso Mosimane’s squad.
RELATED STORY: Aaron Mokoena makes Bafana Bafana case for Aden McCarthy
