AmaZulu head coach Pablo Franco Martin says Mamelodi Sundowns' quality was the difference between the two sides on Tuesday night.
Usuthu managed to hold Sundowns to a goalless draw at halftime but conceded the first goal just three minutes from the interval, as Lucas Ribeiro Costa netted a hat-trick in the second half.
"Well, not only in the second-half, I think in the first-half, corner kicks, wide, deep passes we created several chances, in the first-half we were much more competitive, the second-half we were starting better on the ball," Martin said on SuperSport TV.
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"But the first chance they had from one of our counter presses, we gave them more spaces, we know the quality of those guys, from there within five minutes we conceded the second goal, with the substitutions we dominated a little bit the game.
"But at the end of the day this is a matter of quality, we're playing against the best team, in my opinion, in Africa, so congratulations to them, they were better and now our final is Moroka Swallows next Tuesday and we have to prepare," he said.
The Spanish coach went on and said that there are many positives he takes from the encounter.
"If we take the positive things, the way we competed in the first-half, the situations where we were more comfortable on the ball, when we got rid of that pressure and we tried to play our football, I think this is something that can help us to grow a little bit more," he said.
"We don't do the same mistakes we used to do before the (Afcon) break but anyway I think this team can still compete, we're going to keep on improving for sure, for that we need stability, not only on the field but off the field. Hopefully we get back to good results next Tuesday," he added.
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