Newly-promoted Milford felt they showed strong mentality and left a good impression in their Betway Premiership debut, even if it was a losing start to their first top-flight campaign as they went down 2-0 away at champions Orlando Pirates on Saturday.
The KwaZulu-Natal newcomers had their chances at the Orlando Stadium and coach Xanti Pupuma said he was leaving Soweto proud of his side’s performance.
“Look, no one wants to lose. It's never a nice feeling to lose. But I'm very proud of my team,” said the owner-coach.
“I thought they showed up. If anyone didn't know Milford before, now they know us. Probably is going to change people's attitude when they're coming to play us.
“I'm only praying that we at least continue where we left off or fix a few problems here and there. But I'm going to leave Orlando like a proud dad, but a little bit of a disappointment that we didn't get anything.”
POSITIVE LESSONS
Pupuma said there were lessons they had taken from the game and many of them were positive.
“I think more than anything, the mentality, the refusing to be intimidated. I already know the guys can play, trust me, they can even play better than they did today. But I loved the rotation and how we showed up in the midfield and trying to overload certain zones like we planned.
“For us, we are still in the middle of pre-season as we started late. So it's an area that we're working on. I think in a few games we're going to press better and coordinate it better.”
Pupuma was particularly pleased with the way his side kept to the game plan.
“The guys did exactly how I wanted them to. So now we need to build on that and try and come up with more tricks, more unpredictability, and instill the confidence that we have on the ball and be better off the ball,” he added.
The owner says their priority in the debut season is survival, but he has full faith in his players.
“I know 100 per cent they will give me 100 per cent every time. So that's the way I'm looking at it. I honestly, honestly, do not think we're going to be relegated with the players that we have. But football is football. I mean, if guys show up like this every weekend, we should be OK,” Pupuma added.