Tinkler defiant as Sekhukhune’s CAF Confederation Cup hopes hang in the balance

The continental football goal that Eric Tinkler was tasked with achieving at Sekhukhune United is looking increasingly unlikely. However, South Africa’s famed ginger remains unfazed about his future.

Tinkler must guide Sekhukhune to victory in their final Betway Premiership clash away to Golden Arrows and hope that Stellenbosch FC drop points against Cape Town City on Saturday if they are to secure third place — the position that guarantees qualification for the CAF Confederation Cup.

That was the mandate handed to him when he joined Sekhukhune midway through the season as a replacement for Lehlohonolo Seema, but failure to meet it does not necessarily mean he will be sacked.

“I don’t think that’s the case. It’s too early for that,” was Tinkler’s curt response when asked whether he fears for his job.

As it stands, the experienced coach — who has led numerous local clubs and enjoyed credible runs in continental competitions — believes he has done a solid job so far at Sekhukhune.

“Definitely,” he said when asked if he was satisfied with his impact to date.

“Like I said to the players before this game (against Kaizer Chiefs), in the last seven matches you’ve collected 14 points. Now, if you do that throughout the season and show consistency in your results, you’re fighting for the top two positions.

“Obviously what we’ve achieved so far is very, very good. But I would have preferred three points today because we want to finish third. And today felt more like we dropped two points.”

Tinkler was speaking to the media in the bowels of the Peter Mokaba Stadium after Sekhukhune’s 1-1 draw with Kaizer Chiefs. Ngoanmello Rammala had given Sekhukhune the lead, only for Glody Lilepo to equalise on the stroke of half-time.

“I’m not entirely happy because we were aiming to collect three points to ensure we held on to third spot. But with Stellies winning, they’ve gone a point ahead of us. That makes the final game even more important, and unfortunately, we now rely on others to help us out.”

He admitted to being surprised by Chiefs’ tactical approach.

“They caught us off guard by coming out with a 3-4-3 system. In the first half, we struggled to contain (Gaston) Sirino and Lilepo — they were effectively playing as two number tens. At the back, we gave them a few half-chances.

“On the ball, we had spoken about the importance of our penetration and movement. In the first half, we created chances and scored, which was positive.”

However, he was disappointed with how his team conceded the equaliser.

“We had a great cross into the box, the ball came to Keletso (Makgalwa), but we lost possession and applied no pressure on (Yusuf) Mart, who played it straight through to Lilepo. We’d spoken about showing him outside because he wants to cut in and shoot with his right foot, and yet we let him go exactly where he’s strongest. Conceding right before half-time was extremely disappointing for me.”

Tinkler will no doubt be even more disappointed if Sekhukhune fail to qualify for continental football — a goal that now hinges as much on their own performance as on the results of their rivals.