Arthur Zwane delighted with AmaZulu response in Chippa rout

In a near-perfect response, Usuthu came from 0-1 down behind to beat Chippa United 5-1 at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday afternoon. 

Zwane was delighted his squad absorbed pressure in the early stages of the game and then capitalised on mistakes from the opposition. 

"We were tortured in Orlando and sometimes its how you come back after a setback, and I think from the first minute we showed intent, we showed we wanted to impose ourselves, we wanted to put them under pressure and force them into mistakes," said Zwane.

"I think the boys responded positively, and obviously a lot of people didn't understand – even them [the players] were a bit shocked when they saw the starting line-up, playing with a false nine.

"Usually, at the top we have Pule [Ekstein] but unfortunately he was not available for selection – he's got an ankle injury.

"So we had to look in our squad who can play as a false nine and also still give us the right energy when setting pressing traps while defending, and I think the choice we made was the correct one."

READ: Arthur Zwane backs AmaZulu youth gamble in top four push

With a third-place finish and a chance at CAF interclub football still within reach, Zwane says they will keep believing and working hard, but remains cautious not to put too much pressure on the youngsters. 

"Look, in football you don't give up, we're here to compete even though we are playing with a lot of youngsters, and though we'll focus on ourselves we don't want to put ourselves under pressure, we will take it one game at a time," he noted.

"You never know what's going to happen – if God wants us to go into Africa, I don't see anyone stopping us, so we'll keep on working hard and we'll keep on praying."