Mapeza blames poor set-piece defending for Scottland’s CAF Champions League exit

Scottland FC head coach Norman Mapeza has blamed poor organisation and communication in defending set-pieces for his side’s elimination from the CAF Champions League on Friday.

The Zimbabwean champions went out 3-2 on aggregate after losing 3-0 to Petro de Luanda in the second leg at the Estádio 11 de Novembro.

Scottland had travelled to Luanda with a 2-0 advantage from the first leg at the National Sports Stadium, where second-half goals from Khama Billiat and Knowledge Musona had put them in control of the tie.

Petro overturned the deficit with goals from Ruben Aderito, Jorge Pereira and Pedro Aparicio, with two of the goals coming from corner kicks.

Mapeza said his side was punished for failing to manage key moments.

“In football, if you fail to manage certain situations you get punished,” he said. “We failed to defend those set-pieces. They got two goals from corner kicks. We could have done better. At this level, if you cannot defend set-pieces, then you get punished.”

He said the team had lacked organisation when defending corners.

“You need to be organised and communicate. Everybody must know their responsibilities when defending corner kicks. If there is no communication, there is confusion, and they took advantage of that,” he said.

Mapeza dismissed suggestions that Scottland had gone to Angola to sit back and protect their lead.

“Our plan was not to sit back and defend. That was not the plan,” he said. “There was miscommunication between the defenders, especially when dealing with corner kicks. The second goal came from the same mistake, and I think that is where we lost it.”

Despite the exit in their maiden Champions League campaign, Mapeza said the experience would benefit his players.

“We are still a new club. This is our first year participating in the CAF Champions League,” he said.

“Of course, we have some players with a lot of experience, but for the majority, it was their first time playing in this competition.

“If you look at my previous club, we tried three, four or five times before we managed to reach the group stage. I hope that with time, if we get another opportunity, we will do better.”

More: The Herald