Marumo Gallants coach Raymond Mdaka shocked by relegation

Mdaka could not hide his disappointment as Lindokuhle Mtshali’s brace sealed their fate, leaving the Limpopo-based outfit bottom of the table with 29 points from 30 matches.

Mdaka insists their inability to capitilise on scoring opportunities is the reason for their 2-0 defeat against Swallows at the Donsonville Stadium on Saturday. 

"The sad part of it is we lost in a situation where we had to lose the status in the PSL. We are very sad about that. We never expected it at all, as much as we were amongst three teams that were fighting relegation but it never crossed our minds that we will find ourselves in this situation. Sometimes in a game when you play and you don't score, the other team can get an opportunity and score," he said.

Mdaka refused to use their fairy-tale run to the CAF Confederation Cup semi-final as an excuse for their relegation to the lower division insisting that their poor league form cannot be attributed to their success on the continent.

"We just lost it and got relegated. I wouldn't say there's a difference between how we played here and how we played there [in the CAF Confederation Cup]. We never said we are focusing on this and we are leaving this. It just happened. We wouldn't blame anything on whatever happened. We played some other games and we were able to win."