Matsatsantsa go into the break on the back of a disappointing 1-1 draw against Maritzburg United in their MTN 8 semi-final first leg at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday evening.
Despite having a foothold on the tie for much of the match, a lapse of concentration by the home side in the final five minutes of regulation time saw the Team of Choice gnaw their way back to earn an important away-goal ahead of the second leg at the Harry Gwala Stadium in a fortnight.
Having had a very short off-season break due to United’s CAF Confederation Cup commitments, Tinkler placed the blame on possible fatigue after they did duty against Kaizer Chiefs in midweek as well.
“I think possibly that [late goal] would be expected, considering we’ve played two games in five or six days,” conceded Tinkler.
“Remember, we didn’t really have a proper pre-season and I've said there’s still certain areas of our game that needs to improve – I think that physical side [is one of them].
“But there are a lot of positives to take from it [the game], and we can only get better and stronger.”
With the 10-day break now offering all teams some breathing space – for some, it is perhaps a chance to make adjustments after a poor start to the campaign – as the Nedbank Cup champions, Tinkler has the challenge of preparing his team to face the Nedbank Ke Yona team in the annual friendly clash on Sunday.
However, he has welcomed the opportunity to give the younger contingent, as well as the new additions to the squad, a run out.
“The international break does [come at a good time], although we’ve got more than a couple going to the national team,” said Tinkler.
“But don’t forget we also have the Ke Yona Cup, and there we obviously want to give some of the younger players an opportunity.
“We obviously want to give Prince [Dube], ‘Azu’ [Azubuike Egwuekwe] and some the younger boys an opportunity, so we’ll use a lot of those players.
“But the break also gives us [technical team] an opportunity to work with the squad a bit more in terms of the physical aspect of our game."