AmaZulu head coach Arthur Zwane has labelled his side’s embarrassing loss to Stellenbosch as a call to re-assess themselves having been on the upward trajectory.
Usuthu had no answers as Stellies thumped them 5-0 at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Thursday, further highlighting the worrying trend of the side’s home form.
The KwaZulu Natal based outfit have lost three and drawn one of their last four on home soil having also been beaten by Sekhukhune United and Mamelodi Sundowns in the past and were held by hometown rivals Golden Arrows.
Under the guidance of Zwane and co-coach Vusumuzi Vilakazi, Usuthu have moved off the bottom of the table, inconsistently so and they are currently on 10th place in the Betway Premiership standings.
Five of the best 🖐️ pic.twitter.com/MLhqqvXRdV
On their day, Usuthu have proven to be one of the most entertaining teams in the division whilst reinvigorating the careers of the likes of Rowan Human, Ethan Brooks and club top scorer this season Godspower Ighodaro.
However, their latest defeat to the Maroons comes as a huge shock and will reverberate in their minds for weeks to come.
Speaking to the media in Umlazi after the game, a visibly exasperated Zwane felt the margin of the score would serve as a call to re-evaluate themselves and also called for his group to show him the right mentality.
“This is football for you, this is a huge wake up call. We thought we are getting the rhythm and finding ourselves and getting better and then this blow (comes along),” he expressed.
“But it’s all about how you come back from such a setback, this is a game for people with big character and this is the time to show that you’re good enough to come back from this kind of setback.”
Usuthu will switch their attention to the Nedbank Cup next as they prepare for the challenge of third tier side Might Eagles next week.
Hugo Broos watching Veli Mothwa 😭![CDATA[]]>😭 pic.twitter.com/GrOP9Yr1Dc
— Mashiy'Amahle🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 (@Bonga_BN) January 23, 2025
Their next Betway Premiership match will be against SuperSport United on Saturday, where they will have an opportunity to bounce back with a statement win.
Forecasting a difficult couple of days within his camp, Zwane outlined the importance of rejigging in the mindset as they prepare for a tricky week in cup and league competition.
“To be honest of course we have to look back and see what we’ve done right or wrong and try to rectify that, but as coaches we don’t sleep, we’re playing on Tuesday so we can’t focus on this game,” he explained.
“We were just terrible so we can’t dwell on this, it was so bad that I can’t even remember the positives that we had, so it’s a case of helping the players recover psychologically and we don’t have much time but we’ve got to be better.”