The Citizens beat the Clever Boys 1-0 in their opening league game of the season, before edging Hunt’s charges by the same scoreline in Sunday’s first leg MTN8 semi-final at Cape Town Stadium.
Before the weekend’s clash, McCarthy admitted he would be emotional ahead of the showdown against the coach who handed him his Seven Stars debut as a 17-year-old over two decades ago, and was in jovial mood after getting another clean sheet, and another win, over the reigning Absa Premiership champions.
“I’m very proud and happy we haven’t conceded against Wits yet, but I’m starting to worry because you saw how we were pulling up [in the game on Sunday], but that’s just the pressure that Wits puts you under,” McCarthy told reporters. “Being my first opportunity as a manager, and having to face the champions three times in a matter of days, it’s becoming a bit tough, but I’m getting better as the days go by. And the more I play them, the more I learn and it seems like the tutor [sic] is getting ahead, slowly slowly!”
McCarthy says his team is slowly buying into his methods and preferred style of play, insisting he does not want to lean on the type of football played by the club last season.
“I’ve only been here around two months, so it’s not that much time for the team to change, but I don’t want the team to have last season’s identity – defending for 90 minutes and strictly just hitting teams on the counter,” he said. “Yes, it’s one of our weapons and when the going gets tough, we don’t want to forget some of the good things the team did last season, but I want us to play, to dominate, and when we have the ball, enjoy possession and move the opposition around, and get into good positions to finish teams off. It will take time, but it will come.”
City’s next assignment will be a third encounter against Wits in the second leg of this year’s MTN8 semi-finals, scheduled for Bidvest Stadium on Sunday, 10 September.