Golden Arrows players misunderstood MTN8 score permutations, says coach Pitso Dladla

Golden Arrows coach Pitso Dladla says some of his players did not realise their MTN8 semi-final was still alive after they scored a late goal against Mamelodi Sundowns.

Philani Khumalo’s second-half stoppage-time strike made it 3-2 on the night and levelled the tie at 3-3 on aggregate. However, instead of immediately returning to the centre circle, several Golden Arrows players ran towards the corner to celebrate.

The reaction appeared to reflect confusion over the competition’s away-goal rule. Mamelodi Sundowns progressed to the MTN8 final because they had scored more goals away from home, with Golden Arrows having managed only one away goal.

Some players also looked uncertain when the final whistle was blown, prompting questions over whether they understood the permutations before kick-off.

Dladla said the coaching staff had explained the possible outcomes to the squad before the match, particularly the significance of Mamelodi Sundowns scoring more than once.

“We did discuss all the permutations before the game, even if you could remember the interview before the game, I was saying we need to treat this game in insolation because we’re anticipating scenarios like this if Sundowns score more than one goal because then the away-goal advantage is with them because we only scored one,” Dladla told SuperSport after the game.

The coach added that one of his players had misunderstood the score during the closing stages and believed Golden Arrows were winning the match.

“But when I spoke to him, he did not know the real score of the game, he thought we were leading 3-2 and I said no it’s 3-3 meaning that an away-goal goes to them.”

Dladla admitted he was frustrated to see players celebrating the second goal rather than quickly restarting the game and attempting to find the goal that would have taken Golden Arrows through.

The technical area had recognised that the team still needed to score again, despite the late equaliser on aggregate. The coach said his staff had been urging the players to commit more men forward during the remaining minutes.

“Because like I said we were concentrated on the bench, we knew that we needed another goal after that one, so we were trying to push them even those few minutes that we played we were trying to tell them let’s have more bodies up front,” he added.

“Let’s go to advanced areas, but I think we can’t falter anything, it was not meant for us to go through, but the boys did very well.”

Mamelodi Sundowns’ victory means they will meet Pirates in the MTN8 final. For Golden Arrows, the result ended a dramatic semi-final in which Khumalo’s late goal briefly appeared to have kept their hopes alive, before the away-goal calculation determined which side advanced.