The former Bafana Bafana striker suggested that the Chilli Boys had tried to make things difficult for Usuthu by taking their match to East London
Chippa United coach Dan Malesela thinks it was unfair of AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy to complain about the state of the Sisa Dukashe pitch.
McCarthy was commenting after Wednesday evening’s league match, which his team won 1-0 thanks to Thapelo Xoki’s 56th-minute penalty.
“Chippa knew, playing us in PE, World Cup stadium [the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium], nice football pitch, it’s going to be a completely different outcome,” McCarthy told SuperSport TV after the game.
“Bringing us here to East London in the middle of nowhere, they might have a chance and rightfully so they were in with a chance.”
The Chilli Boys will be playing at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium again this weekend – they host Richards Bay – conquerers of Kaizer Chiefs, in a Round of 16 Nedbank Cup tie on Saturday,
When asked about McCarthy’s comments over the pitch, Malesela had a different take on the matter.
“I don’t know about that. Sisa, I don’t think there’s much that’s wrong with that pitch. I would be the first one to raise my hand and say we can’t play here but it’s as flat as you can get,” Malesela told the media, as quoted by SowetanLive.
“When we played [Golden] Arrows at Moses Mabhida it was in a terrible state. I don’t know [about Sisa Dukashe] – that’s Benni’s opinion but for me the field was okay. I wouldn’t want to make excuses about the pitch because for me it’s okay,” Malesela added.
Commenting on the Richards Bay side his team will face, Malesela added: “You must say this team is not here because they were done favours but it’s here because they played and did well. They beat Kaizer Chiefs and so there’s something.”
Chippa beat another second-tier side, Free State Stars in the previous round. They needed a 116th-minute goal from Andile Mbenyane to earn a 2-2 extra-time draw before triumphing 4-3 in the penalty shoot-out.