Richards Bay head coach Brandon Truter says apart from a goalkeeper 'mistake' which led to a goal by Orlando Pirates, they had the game under control after a 1-0 loss in the Betway Premiership.
Evidence Makgopa scored the only goal, as the Natal Rich Boyz narrowly lost against The Buccaneers.
Truter says a goal midway into the first stanza affected their game plan, even though they did well to restrict the Buccaneers from building up from the back.
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"Ja then you have rejig the strategy, adapt because now you are chasing a goal. But I think in the opening 15, 20 minutes we were in the game, we made Sipho [Chaine] kick the ball long and we managed to pick up the second ball," Truter said on SuperSport TV
"But ja a mistake not expected from Ian [Otieno], parried the ball back into play and they reacted quickly, so well done there. But other than that I think they had half chances here and there.
"We tried but the lack of quality in the final ball is still lacking from us, we have not managed to work on anything for the past two weeks. It has been about managing fatigue from all the travelling," Truter said.
The former Moroka Swallows coach suggested that they had to reserve some players ahead of their Carling Knockout semi-final encounter against Magesi on Saturday, which was another factor that restricted them.
"It's a lot to manage, we have a semi-final on Saturday as well, we had to rejig, we had to protect Moses Mthembu, it's a bit of a crisis management but we have it under control," Truter said.
"It's hectic but I've said it in the past, the boys are managing it well, looking after themselves and the support from the club and so we'll see how it goes. It's a cup competition, it brings a different environment, a different feel.
"It's a good effort from them tonight," the former AmaZulu coach added.