COACH ERIC: I'M EXTREMELY PROUD OF EVERYBODY AT THE CLUB
7 September 2020
Overall, the 2019/ 20 campaign was one in which Maritzburg United took some positive steps in the right direction.
In what was a prolonged campaign which took over 12 months to complete, the Team of Choice ended up ending in seventh spot on the Absa Premiership table, a very credible showing which of course secures a place in the MTN8 next season.
There was also an appearance in a cup final, the second cup final in three seasons for the KwaZul-Natal team.
It didn't end in victory though; a tightly contested Telkom Knockout final against Mamelodi Sundowns at the Moses Mabhida Stadium resulted in a 2-1 win for the Pretoria team.
Then of course there was the Covid-19 induced break to proceedings, which interrupted play for over four months.
When United did return, they failed to match their earlier form; perhaps not being able to play at the Harry Gwala Stadium was one factor which contributed to that.
There were also a series of injuries and a couple of suspensions which didn't help, but nevertheless, a seventh-placed finish for a team which had to battle it out in the promotion-relegation play-offs just a few months earlier, was a commendable outcome.
"If you had to ask me in the beginning of the season would I be happy to end seventh, the answer would obviously be yes," head coach Eric Tinkler said.
"Considering where we were and where we came from, I think its absolutely fantastic achievement for us to have finished seventh.
"We were having such an incredible season up until the lockdown," he added. "Had the season continued, I believe we could have finished even higher than seventh. I'm extremely proud of everybody at the club for the type of season we've had."
Off the field there were also a number of positive developments, including the opening of an official Maritzburg United merchandise store at the Liberty Midlands Mall.
The Team of Choice players will be having a short break of about 10 days and will then begin preparing form the 2020/ 21 season.
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