Cape Town City’s Ertugral seeks solutions as team’s goal drought continues unabated

Herman Gibbs

Cape Town City' slump continued on Sunday when TS Galaxy handed them a 2-0 defeat in Nelspruit.

It was the third time in four matches that City failed to score. City's Turkish coach Muhsin Ertuğral has identified the problem areas, but it seems he is unable to guide the team to winning ways again.

City started well against Galaxy without creating goalscoring chances although they managed final third entries very often in the opening half hour.

"I think we started very well and had a lot of momentum in the opening 30 minutes, but we couldn't find that last (scoring) pass when making last-third entries.

"Here and there was a glimpse of a (scoring) chance. We won a lot of balls back in the second phase of the game."

One of City's problem areas is frequently losing possession to opponents.

"We're losing balls in areas with one-touch plays. It's something that should never happen especially when making final-third entries, and at least when you're finishing.

"I think it was totally against the run of play when Galaxy were awarded the corner from which they scored. We panicked and the ball should have been cleared from the box. Instead, it dropped at the feet of a Galaxy player.

"This is football and when that happens you run behind. Before their second goal came, we had a good chance, but the ball struck the bar. We were a bit unlucky there."

"If the ball went in it could have been a game changer."

In the second half, City changed their gameplan and although they created scoring chances they were twice foiled by the crossbar.

"We opted to play the second half two strikers out. We gained momentum but the crossbar kept us out after we were on the front foot.

"Obviously, when you are 2-0 down, there is a lot of panicking. This is a young team that needs to be more stable, especially in the middle of the park."

The result left City in seventh position, while Galaxy climbed up to 10th place in the PSL table.

City returns to action on Wednesday evening when they host KZN visitors Lamontville Golden Arrows, at Athlone Stadium. Over the weekend, log-leaders Sundowns handed Arrows a 4-0 hiding.

TS Galaxy are also back in action on Wednesday evening when they host the ever-improving Polokwane City at the Mbombela Stadium.