CAPE TOWN. — Cape Town Spurs Technical Director Sean Connor was left bitterly disappointed by Therlo Moosa after he missed a last-minute penalty in the 1-0 loss to direct relegation rivals, Kaitano Tembo’s Richards Bay at King Zwelithini Stadium, on Sunday.
Spurs, who are rooted at the bottom of the table, were awarded a penalty in the referee’s optional time, but Moosa’s spot-kick hit the upright, much to the fury of the bench.
The striker also missed a good chance with a header in the first half, when he was left unmarked to beat Jackson Mabokgwane in goal.
“Listen, at this level, if you get a penalty kick, you should score,” said Connor, the former CAPS United coach.
“Simple as that.
“You always have to applaud the player who steps up to take the penalty, but as I said at this level, you have to score.”
Connor said his players might be feeling edgy and anxious at the moment because of their log position.
Spurs are rooted at the foot of the table with just three points from 11 matches, with one win only, which came against Orlando Pirates in the first game in charge for the Belfast-born coach on the bench.
“Obviously, there are tensions of where we are, but I don’t think we should take it on the pitch,” said Connor.
“We prepared the whole week.
“We knew exactly how they were going to play, we knew what to expect. So I just think sometimes we need to have a proactive execution and lack of confidence is a difficult thing to get it right.
“My job is to try and lift them, try and keep on working hard and see where we go from here.”
The disappointment from Connor comes hugely because they lost to Bay who now distance themselves to six points ahead of them.
“We clawed them, we put some pressure on them,” added Connor.
“Any positive results on Sunday would have maintained that pressure and (now) they got a bit of a breather.
“But we still have a game in hand and if we win that game, we get back to within three points. As long as we get back to within three points, they are coming to Cape Town, so let’s see.” — Idiski.