Simba SC head coach Fadlu Davids has reacted to his side's CAF Confederation Cup final defeat at the hands of Moroccan outfit RS Berkane.
Despite a spirited performance and a 17th-minute goal by Joshua Mutale, Simba's 1-1 draw on the day wasn't enough to overturn the 2-0 first-leg deficit, leading to a 3-1 aggregate loss.
The match ended in heartbreak as Soumaila Sidibe scored a stoppage-time equalizer for Berkane at the Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar, securing their third Confederation Cup title.
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After the match, the South African coach hinted at dissatisfaction with the officiating, suggesting the referees may have favoured Berkane at some point during the clash.
"I am extremely proud of my players, and the main theme of the week, and the main theme of both legs on the final is overcoming adversity, and this adversity is what we faced in the lead up to the game, in training sessions, and what happened in the pitch in the entire 90 minutes, and in Berkane will definitely help the players," Davids said, per Pan-Africa Football.
"It will help them to adapt to the adversity, the players started the game in a fantastic way, going 1-0 up and could have gone 2-0 up then the adversity of the swinging of the match in a certain direction, but we stood tall, we stood strong, even though in the last minutes they kept giving unnecessary free-kicks in the direction of Berkane but we stood strong, we defended well, and we were strong.
"Again in the second half, the adversity of the unexpected red card, but still our players stood strong, our players didn’t back down, our players stood with 10-men and went toe-to-toe with Berkane, and in my first point, I am extremely proud of my players for standing up the way they did.
"No matter which way it was swinging, our players stood firm, our players stood strong with 10-men, and they were even going for the winning goal, and this is a true testament to what we have been doing this season, and the adversity kept on coming against us, but we stood strong, we fought, right up until the end," he explained.
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"Yes, I didn’t see the lines of the VAR to say whether it was offside (the goal Simba scored), but I don’t think anyone saw the lines, but we accept everything that went against us, we accept but we don’t forget," added the ex-Orlando Pirates mentor.
"For my players, as a coach, as a leader, and with CAF’s motto of integrity, we will remain with integrity as Simba, because that is what we are, we are a team of integrity, we are a team that will fight against adversity, we are a team that will grow through adversity."
Simba will now shift their attention to the Tanzanian Premier League, where they are in a title race with fierce rivals Young Africans.
