SuperSport United coach Eric Tinkler feels his side should have been 4-0 up at half-time in their Absa Premiership tie against Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium on Wednesday.

Eric Tinkler continued his impeccable record against Steve Komphela as his side secured maximum points with strikes by Aubrey Media and Bradley Grobler, following Eric Mathoho’ early dismissal.

The Glamour Boys did pull a goal back in the 66th minute when Venezuelan striker Gustavo Paez found the back of the net from close range.

Tinkler says he was pleased with his side’s performance, but believes SuperSport could’ve sealed the game in the first-half with the number of chances they wasted.

‘In the first half, we really should have killed the game off with the chances that we had. We could have easily come in at half-time 4-0 up,’ Tinkler told SuperSport TV after the game.

‘But we made the game difficult for ourselves. We know it’s never easy playing against 10; I don’t know if it’s a psychological thing, but the chances we created, they went down to 10 [men], we got the goal, we got the second, and then we switched off. You can’t do that with the speed Chiefs have.’

Tinkler says he was disappointed with Matsatsantsa’s second-half display, stating that they switched off their concentration, which led to Amakhosi pulling a goal back.

‘And in the second half, we weren’t there. We stopped applying the principles that we had practised, and that’s the disappointing part for me,’ he added.

‘Second half performance was simply not good enough. We gave them [Chiefs] too much time, too much space, and you’re playing against 10, you got a spare man and you’re backing off, and that shouldn’t be happening.

‘So we need to sit and discuss those issues with the players and make them understand you can’t be doing that, especially against a team like Chiefs because they’re going to punish you.

‘This was an opportunity to keep a clean sheet and we threw it away, which is disappointing.’

SuperSport United will now turn their attention to the MTN8 semi-final clash against Maritzburg United at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday.

Kick-off has been scheduled for 20:15.

Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix