Having taken the lead early in the second-half through Thuso Phala, Matsatsantsa tired and allowed the visitors back in the game, with Lebohang Maboe clinching the equaliser six minutes from time to force the stalemate.
“We dealt with them for 70 minutes,” Tinkler told SuperSportTV. “In the first half we were very good, created a few chances and could have entered the break 1-0 up. So I didn’t think the performance was bad, I thought we were very good in the first half.
“In the second half we started very well, we got the goal. But then in the last 20 minutes we weren’t really there, defensively we lost our shape, we started dropping off and allowed them to play through the middle, and then we conceded from a throw-in.”
Tinkler was particularly displeased by his side’s lack of mental fortitude in the closing stages, but says he was pleased by his team’s overall performance.
“You can’t switch off – I explained that to the players in the changeroom – you have to be alert for 96 minutes, we switched off once and got punished for it,” he said. “But we’ll take the 1-1, and will now go there and look to get that away goal.
“The only problem I felt was the last 20 minutes where we started to feel it a little bit, and it wasn’t just a few individual but quite a few, and that’s possibly expected after this phase we’ve been through with three games in seven days.
“Overall I am happy, just disappointed with the way we conceded the goal.”
The second leg at Harry Gwala Stadium is scheduled for Saturday, 9 September.