REPORT: Botes draws Wits and Ajax level
On a wet and soggy Coetzenberg Stadium pitch, which got worse in the second half, there was an absence of good football as both sides had to slug it out to get a result.
“It was a bit of a battle, it wasn’t the best football, it was pretty ugly, it was just long balls into the boxes because of the conditions,” explained De Sa.
“Obviously they’ve got the physical side of it and they’re always gonna do that but we fought well, we competed well, we hit the post there, we thought we could have maybe snuck a second goal.
“I’m disappointed with the way we conceded but we’ve got something to takes with us [to Bidvest Stadium in the second leg] and we’ll make a match of it.
“I think we’ll be able to play better football there, the pitch will be better than this one, for sure. Of course theyre gonna play long abain and direct and we’ve got to be prepared for it, but I think we’ll play a lot bettee when the field is better than this one, so that gives us a little bit of hope as well and we’ve got to get a goal, that’s the main thing.
“But I don’t think they’ll play defensive and that will open it up for the second round so it’s something to look forward to.”
De Sa was involved in an unsavoury exchange with the match officials after the match, with television footage clearly showing a rude gesture towards the linesman, and the coach explained his frustration.
“Look, the ball went out on the halfway line right over the linesman and he allowed them to throw it 15 metres down the line and obviously we felt the ref should have stopped it,” he added.
“But look, they’re not gonna see everything [the officials] and it got away from us and that made us concede the goal, but we had chances as well, we should have maybe wrapped it up but it was a good battle overall so I’m happy with the guys but disappointed with the goal [conceded].”
De Sa also confirmed that midfielder Granwald Scott was replaced because of a recurrence of a groin injury, which is likely to keep him sidelined for at least a few weeks.
