Baroka FC head coach Dan Malesela has explained the below-par performance in the opening game of the 2025 promotion/relegation play-offs between Orbit College FC and Castric Stars FC.
The two sides, who finished second and third respectively in the Motsepe Foundation Championship, will, together with Betway Premiership side Cape Town City, compete for a place in the top tier.
READ | Orbit & Casric stars fire blanks in play-offs
Orbit and Castric couldn't find the net at Olympia Park on Wednesday as they played out to a goalless draw
"The reason finishing in position 1 in the Motsepe Foundation Championship is more difficult compared to finishing in the same position in the PSL is because circumstances are not the same," Malesela tells KickOff.
"People just play for winning when they are desperate. It's not about the standard of the league. It's all about the nerves and desperation. People are very desperate to get to the PSL. You do whatever to get there.
"In the playoffs, it's even worse because it's all about 'we must defend and not concede, get a goal anyhow anyway.' So it disturbs this thing of play-offs because sometimes I feel like we forget that people need to be entertained.
READ | Saleng's former team for PSL end-of-season shock?
"When we set up competitions, they must be just about the beauty of the game. Not create a situation where people are going to get desperate to win at all costs. So that's the downfall of these play-offs."
Photo: Philip Maeta/Gallo Images
