Baxter full of praise for Sundowns

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Stuart Baxter cuts a frustrated figure.
  • Post published:April 14, 2017

SuperSport United coach Stuart Baxter cut a frustrated figure following his side’s 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Mamelodi Sundowns in their Absa Premiership tie but admitted that they were outclassed.

The much-anticipated Tshwane Derby delivered a feast of goals, but it proved completely one-sided as the reigning PSL champions blitzed four first-half goals past their cross-town rivals to secure an emphatic victory.

Baxter bemoaned his sides poor state of defending and revealed that it felt like his team came to spectate the CAF Champions League winners.

‘The first five minutes we started quite nice there on the ball then gave two big transitions which they then came one-on-one with our goalkeeper,’ he said after the game.

‘We couldn’t defend properly, we allowed them to play through our lines, we then defended badly when the ball was through our lines and they ran in behind us time after time.

‘And once you 3-0 down and 4-0 down at half time then you lucky to try and stop the bleeding and you are lucky to try and scrape yourself back into the game. If you look at the whole game I mean we were just outclassed, it is as simple as that,’ he added.

The former Kaizer Chiefs mentor also highlighted what he felt the biggest difference between the two sides were.

‘Character and quality to follow the game plan and character and quality in our individual technical ability, we didn’t show what we can do.

‘It just looked like we were watching Sundowns, admiring them rather than being in the game so when you do that we you know how you win games and you know if we turn the ball over as often as we did against a good team, they are going to punish you.

‘I have lost 5-0 twice in my career, once to Barcelona and once tonight,’ he said.

Baxter will aim to get back to winning ways when they host Barrack Young Controllers on Saturday April 16 at 18:00 in the second-leg of their CAF Confederation Cup tie after playing to a 1-1 stalemate in Liberia.

Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix