TS Galaxy technical director Nermin Basic has praised amateur outfit Jacksa Spears after the Rockets secured a victory to reach the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup on Sunday. Galaxy eventually proved too strong in the quarter-final clash, but Basic admitted the lower-division side made life far more difficult than many expected.
The Rockets were forced to remain patient throughout the contest before goals from Salatiel Silva and Tshepo Kakora sealed their progression. For Basic, the performance of Spears justified their remarkable run to the latter stages of South Africa’s premier knockout competition.
Nedbank Cup Quarter-Finals
“Very very tough game, I think we played better the first half than the second half. The second half was very difficult for us because of the win also but in the end we scored the goals in good time,” Basic said. Despite dominating large spells of the encounter, Galaxy struggled to create clear chances and had to rely on discipline and mentality to avoid the type of upset that has characterised several fixtures in this year’s tournament.
According to the Nedbank Cup rules, the competition is open to all clubs in the Premier Soccer League and the National First Division. The tournament has a long history of upsets, with lower-division teams often causing problems for their more illustrious opponents.
Key Takeaways
Here are some key points from the match:
- TS Galaxy secured a hard-fought victory over Jacksa Spears to reach the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup.
- The Rockets dominated the game but struggled to create clear chances.
- Goals from Salatiel Silva and Tshepo Kakora sealed the win for Galaxy.
Basic acknowledged that the cup encounter also highlighted areas Galaxy will need to improve when they return to the Betway Premiership. While pleased with the result, the Bosnian coach admitted the performance exposed certain defensive concerns the team is working to address.
The fixture also allowed Galaxy to showcase the growing depth within their squad following the lifting of the club’s Fifa transfer ban. One of the beneficiaries was Kakora, who marked his opportunity with a goal after being introduced into the team.
“Every player is important especially when you must have 18, 20 players to have a good training session. In every position you must have two good players, to have competition,” Basic added. As the team prepares for the next round of the Nedbank Cup, they will be looking to build on this momentum and make a deep run in the competition.
