COACH ERNST PLEASED TO 'GET CONNECTED TO THE PACK'
3 January 2021
Saturday evening's 2-1 DStv Premiership win over Bloemfontein Celtic at the Harry Gwala Stadium was a step in the right direction, believes Team of Choice head coach Ernst Middendorp.
After a slow start to the season, Maritzburg's first win of the campaign, secured via a brace from Thabiso Kutumela, lifts the club off the bottom of the table.
It also places them just four points adrift of the team in eighth spot, AmaZulu.
"Its [the victory over Celtic] not just for me, but for the entire Maritzburg United institution," Middendorp said after the game.
"The fans, the supporters were waiting for it and it was three points needed, beginning of the year, first game - to just get connected to the rest of the pack. That is crucial for now.”
For the Maritzburg tactician, what's most important now is to see confidence and self-belief returning to the Team of Choice camp. He wants his men to continue in this direction in the weeks and months ahead.
"You can see how we struggled to manage the game, despite leading 2-0," coach Ernst said. "It has something to do with confidence, nothing to do with skills or with the level of quality in the team.
"This is just a mindset, where you need three points," he continued. "Its a learning process in the last three games (2-2 vs Mamelodi Sundowns, 0-2 vs Swallows FC and 2-2 vs Stellenbosch FC).
"The team is prepared for fighting, for coming back to the level of how they can play. But in the moment we need to do it with more confidence, with more self-esteem from everybody's position."
Next up for the KwaZulu-Natal Capital city club is a DStv Premiership encounter against Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium on Saturday evening.
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