Maritzburg United coach: We won’t man-mark Percy Tau

by Graeme Jackson

Sunday Apr 22, 2018. 09:00

Maritzburg United coach Fadlu Davids insists his team will not try and man-mark Mamelodi Sundowns’ Percy Tau in today’s Nedbank Cup semifinal.

Tau has been the driving force behind the Brazilians this season, with the Tshwane giants seeking a League and Cup double.

But Davids insists ‘Downs have so much quality throughout their team, that focusing on one dangerman will only allow space for others to thrive.

“The quality of Sundowns, you cannot man-mark Percy Tau because then you are giving space to [Sibusiso] Vilakazi. Then you are opening up for [Gaston] Sirino or [Themba] Zwane coming through the channels,” said the Team of Choice coach.

“So it’s about the collective, it’s about the team effort. We are not a team that goes man-marking. It is collective effort in terms of having a zonal structure.

“But it’s not only about the defence, we shouldn’t have that mindset. We are at home. We should try play our game to be able to try and dominate the game.

“Of course there are going to be circumstances where we are forced to defend and to defend deep sometimes, which is normal when you are playing against a team like Sundowns.

“But we’ve got to use the space in our attack wisely,” concluded Davids.

The teams will meet at Harry Gwala Stadium, kick-off at 15h00 CAT.