Golden Arrows coach Manqoba Mngqithi has sent a message to the supporters following their 1-1 draw with Mamelodi Sundowns on Wednesday,
However, the performance of his charges pleased the mentor who took on his ex-employers for the first time since being dismissed mid-December.
Abafana Besthende had gone ahead through Keenan Phillips, but a penalty from Lucas Ribeiro before the break guided the clash to finish level in the end.
READ | Sundowns drop points at Mngqithi's Arrows
"I won't be too sure whether it was true reflection of the game. The only thing I know is we showed up, we gave our best shot. We got some nice breaks at the end which could've decided the result," Mngqithi told SuperSport TV.
"But unfortunately, the decision-making, technique all those things. But to be honest, I think we gave a very good contest to the spectators. I'm sure the supporters enjoyed a very good game of football and for me that's what matters the most," continued the soft-spoken coach.
Long-serving Knox Mutizwa, who was introduced before the start of the second half, was amongst a handful that squandered clear chances.
"We were just unfortunate because Knox misses the ball completely. Knox never misses the ball in those situations and Van Rooi had maybe or two instances," Mngqithi said.
"But these youngsters are also surprised to see why we getting so many good chances to face the goalkeeper that in overtime will improve and really show us what we really want to see.
"But I was impressed with the attitude, the mentality was good, they fought against a very good team. Sundowns is a very good team; you can never make that mistake so I'm proud of the boys," he added.
"I just want to thank the supporters, I was also surprised with the support that we got, the noise that we got. I just wish our supporters can always come in numbers because that would always help us on our home matches that we'd always looking to get a result no matter what.
"But I was very impressed the noise, level of the noise when we did not have the numbers like the opponents but I think we still have a lot of work to do," the coach noted.