The Team of Choice were denied the opportunity to lift the first piece of top-flight silverware in their history following their loss to Free State Stars on Saturday night, as Goodman Dlamini’s first-half strike did the damage as the KwaZulu-Natal club succumbed to a 1-0 defeat.
Despite the narrow loss, Davids says he was proud of his charges for their efforts not only in the final, but over the entire season.
“We have to take the loss as a team, and grow as a team, and we have to learn from it,” said Davids, who has been nominated for the PSL Coach of the Season award.
“I’m proud of my players … they gave everything from the first day of pre-season, how they’ve pushed and how they got to this stage. But we will learn and grow and get better and look to correct it next season in a cup final.”
Davids feels the loss could be a positive for his side, preventing them from resting on their laurels ahead of next season’s campaign.
“Ahead of next season, the loss is perhaps a good lesson: had we won it, perhaps we would have thought we were better than what we are,” he said.
“We have been punching above our weight and that’s due to the players giving everything. We’re evolving as a team, adapting to new concepts and tactical elements, and the players have taken to it very well.”
A fourth-place Absa Premiership finish for Maritzburg means a home tie for the season-opening MTN8 tournament in August, with the 2017 losing finalists Cape Town City confirmed as their quarter-final opponents.