Sekhukhune lower ambitions after loss to Downs

With a chance of finishing in second or third position in the DStv Premiership still alive, Sekhukhune United coach Lehlohonolo Seema insists they are not looking that far, and that their target is  to maintain their place in the top eight.

Babina Noko suffered their first defeat this year in the league when they lost 1-2 to Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday to remain fourth in the standings .

"We are not even looking there. The defeat against Sundowns is putting us in trouble," Seema told the media during the post-match press conference. "We are not even talking about the second spot because there are still five games to play. Some have seven and if they win their games in hand, they will jump [over] us.

"At the moment, we are still trying to fight for the top eight. We are not even looking at that mix. We are actually looking below us and there are teams that if they win two games, they will overtake us. Let's just hang in there and keep on fighting up until the last game and see how far we can finish. We are far from saying now we can look ahead."

Sundowns opened the scoring inside two minutes when Tashreeq Matthews pounced from close range after a clearance by Tresor Tshibwabwa, while marking Thapelo Morena, fell on his pass. 

It didn’t take long for the Brazilians to increase their lead, with Matthews providing the assist for  Morena to increase their lead seven minutes into the game.

Chibuike Ohizu pulled one back for Sekhukhune from the penalty spot after a clumsy challenge from Brian Onyango brought down Vusimuzi Mncube inside the box in the second half.

Seema blamed individual errors for the defeat against Sundowns. "Seven minutes, we lost the match. We had a terrible start and we made mistakes that I'm sure even opponents could not believe their luck," he said.

"If you start like that against a team like Sundowns, they are champions and they have been sitting on top of the log from day one and you don't bring your A game from the first minutes, you are bound to have a mountain to climb.

"But credit must go to the players, when you are 2-0 down after seven minutes at Loftus against Sundowns, one will think the game is done and dusted, but the boys fought back and we are a team that will fight until the last minute."