Maritzburg United coach Roger De Sa has heaped praise on his side’s character and fighting spirit ahead of their clash against Golden Arrows on Saturday.

The 52-year-old coach claimed his first victory since taking charge of the Team of Choice, when they came from a goal down to defeat Free State Stars 2-1 at the Harry Gwala Stadium on Sunday.

De Sa says he was pleased with his side’s fighting spirit, after coming from a goal down to collect all three points against the Team of Choice during their Absa Premiership encounter.

‘I thought we were pretty good until we conceded,’ De Sa told the Maritzburg United website.

‘We were looking good, but we got caught with a sucker punch [when Stars scored first]. But one change, we changed our system a bit to try and penetrate them more and then we got the goal.

‘Once we got the equaliser, we always felt we could get the winner. Glad to get the three points, it puts us in a much better position and we can now look at the teams ahead of us and not behind us.’

The former Ajax Cape Town coach went on to praised his side’s character, while also reserving special praise for former coach Ernst Middendorp’s contributions to the club before parting ways.

‘They have always been like that [a team with fighting spirit]. You could see it when they survived relegation last season,’ he added.

‘I think Ernst [Middendorp] did a fantastic job here previously, and then Fadlu [Davids, assistant coach], so it was pretty easy to come in and follow through.

‘It is a gutsy team with a fantastic crowd that gets behind the team. That’s the easy side… It was a tough week for us, conceding four goals on Wednesday (at SuperSport). So to get them up and going today was tough, but they showed good character and held out.’

Maritzburg United will next take on Golden ArrowS in their KZN derby in the Absa Premiership on Saturday.

The match at the Chatsworth Stadium kicks off at 18:00.

Image: Maritzburg United website