Eric Tinkler on Sekhukhune United's loss to NFD side in the Nedbank Cup: It's a difficult one to accept as the players gave their all but still lost

Eric Tinkler cut a lone figure last night as his Sekhukhune United were dumped out of the Nedbank Cup by National First Division side Milford FC.

The Motsepe Foundation Championship side won the game 3-2 on penalties after the game ended 2-2 in regulation time.

Tinkler said he was impressed with he was overall display from his side but the result at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium was disappointing for him.

“I am very happy with the performance that our boys put on tonight,” he told the media.

“I think they were exceptional and I don’t think we’ve played like that since the break. So I’m very proud of the effort they put in. It’s heartbreaking for them, but I’m very proud of their performance.”

“No, not at all. Like I said, our team performed exceptionally well,” added a visibly disappointed Tinkler.

“We were by far the best team, and we created the most chances during the majority of the game. They spent the match defending, so I don’t think we underestimated them.”

“We all knew that this was never going to be an easy match against Milford. It doesn’t matter whether they are a division lower or not. You always have to raise your level and play to a higher level, and I thought we did that today.”