Bidvest Wits coach Gavin Hunt believes the Fifa international break came at the wrong time for his side, following their elimination from the Telkom Knockout.

The Clever Boys failed to advance to the final after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to ‘giant killers’ Baroka in the semi-final at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Matome Mabeba scored the only goal of the game as Bakgaga set up a final against Orlando Pirates, who beat their Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs the day before.

Hunt admits that his side lacked composure and potency in the final third, but credits Baroka for showing their fighting spirit throughout the match.

‘I thought we had the best four chances of the game. You can’t gift a free header inside the six-yard box. Look at the chances [we’ve had] in the end. But we have to give them credit, they stuck at it and once they got a goal they never got out. We gotta give them credit. We were not good enough, certainly in the last third,’ Hunt told SuperSport TV after the match.

‘This is what happens after the Fifa break, I don’t want to single out [players], but you see people are off the mark. It happens every time. I knew were were going to be in trouble coming here. [But] I didn’t expect the mistakes to happen like that. It’s part and parcel of the game.

‘We made changes, changed the shape of the team. We tried to reinforce in the game, but you gotta have a better delivery into a certain area. You’re not going to get through them. They were sitting on the box. You gotta be better. You expect better from international players in certain areas. But it wasn’t to be. The Fifa break doesn’t help us.’

Bidvest Wits will now turn their attention back to the Absa Premiership when they take on Black Leopard at the Thohoyandou Stadium on Saturday, with kick-off set for 8:15pm.

Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix