SuperSport United coach Stuart Baxter says a momentary lack of discipline cost his side the game, following their 1-0 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns on Wednesday night.

Hlompho Kekana’s 83rd-minute header ensured that Pitso Mosimane’s side recorded a league double against their cross-town rivals. Baxter says that his side did well to contain the Sundowns attack, but lamented the manner in which his side conceded the goal.

‘We knew that we could afford to give Sundowns possession in certain areas and not in certain other areas, thought they did a reasonable job of making sure that we narrow their chances down,’ he said in post-match comments.

‘But then the discipline on a set play, a free kick, you could have your opinions whether it is a free kick or not, but we have to defend it and we don’t.

‘We don’t show the discipline there at that moment and that’s what’s cost us the game. And then unfortunately, embarrassingly almost, after that we open up and start playing again, whereas people have shrunk into defensive positions, but we didn’t really have a threat and that is probably what has cost us this game,’ he added.

The former Kaizer Chiefs mentor suggested that his side put too much focus on the defensive side of things and as a result, failed to take the game to their opponents.

‘Yeah I mean, football is all about balances, balances between attack and defence and today we became, I thought, while we kept our principles and while we could open the game up when we got the ball, then I thought we had a threat, but we did it far too little and gave the ball away far too much.

‘They had too much possession where I would have liked to hit them a few times and put them on the back foot a little bit, and certainly we need to do that better,’ he concluded.

SuperSport United shift their attention to the Nedbank Cup where they will face Kaizer Chiefs in a quarter-final clash at the FNB Stadium.

Kick-off has been set for 18:00.

Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix