AmaZulu head coach Arthur Zwane reflects on missed opportunity to progress in Nedbank Cup

Usuthu were the clear favourites heading into the tie against the Motsepe Foundation Championship team but ended up going down 2-1 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.

Stars took the lead in the 12th minute when Lelethu Skelem slipped a perfectly timed pass to Mfundo Thikazi and fired a low shot past goalkeeper Darren Johnson.

Zwane's side responded strongly just minutes into the second half with Hendrick Ekstein finishing calmly to make it 1-1.

Just when the game appeared destined for penalties, Casric struck the decisive blow in the 115th minute. Substitute Decide Chauke found space inside the box and finished to make it 2-1.

Reflecting on the result, the Usuthu boss explained that his team should have won the tie but it ended up being a massive learning experience for his players.

He said on iDiski Times: "They are learning but they are learning the hard way because probably we expected them to go to the semi-finals.

"It was always going to be difficult also for them. But what's disappointing us for now is that this game was there for the taking, taking nothing away from the opponents.

“This is a game we should have won. Whenever we got into the [last] third, we looked like we could score at any given time.”