All Stars head coach Sinethemba Badela says his charges are able to compete with top-flight teams after their Nedbank Cup exit at the hands of Orlando Pirates.
The Motsepe Foundation Championship side held the Soweto giants in the first half, before goals from Monnapule Saleng and Thembinkosi Lorch scored in the second stanza to seal the win for the visitors.
"Look, I thought we did well the first 60 minutes, we stuck to the plan and we had a few chances on transition but we made a few mistakes," Badela told SuperSport after the game.
Read: Lorch Scores On Return For Bucs In Nedbank Cup
"And then the second-half we turn over the ball in our half, the rest defence is not good, then they go and score. And once a team like Pirates scores first it becomes a problem because now it's a cup game you have to send more numbers and they've got Lorch on the pitch, they've got Vincent Pule, they've got Saleng, they've got speed, so it suits them to play a little more on the counter.
"But I cannot fault my players, I thought they gave their best. I just wanna tell them that we still love them, they gave their best," he said.
Badela added that his charges will learn from their mistakes, which were punished by the Buccaneers.
"I think we can compete, you could see we can compete, there were times where we were playing but I thought we could have been a little bit more brave on the ball, some individual mistakes but that's why we'll go home and look at the game," he addded.
"And what we've learned in today's game is if you make mistakes against top teams they are going to punish you, which is something we have not been doing when they make mistakes.
"So we have to learn from that and we'll get better."
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