Bidvest Wits coach Gavin Hunt showed no regard for reputation when setting out his stall for Saturday's MTN8 semifinal first-leg match against Ajax Cape Town on a small, muddy pitch in Stellenbosch.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw and the result handed Wits the advantage with their home leg to come at the end of the month.
Hunt had little hesitation in benching his two star midfielders as he went with a "horses for courses" approach after pronouncing the pitch at the Coetzenburg Stadium unfit for football.
"You can't play soccer on this," he said before the game, tossing away plans for any creativity and instead setting up his side to nullify the threat through the middle posed by Ajax's pacy youngsters.
It was the sort of innovative thinking for which the 51-year-old rarely gets credit and has been the reason for his success over the years.
On Saturday, it was a bold step to bench both Sibusiso Vilakazi and Jabulani Shongwe and turn to the gritty Ben Motshwari and Phumlani Ntshangase.
Within 11 minutes of kick-off, Hunt's plan looked to be a dud as Ajax scored. But it proved the only time the hosts managed to engineer their way through a crowded midfield, where the play was intense with a ferocity in the tackling and a high turnover of possession.
The Clever Boys kept banging away as they dominated possession but squandered chances of their own, leading Hunt to throw away his original plan and bring on Vilakazi and Vincent Pule with his side a goal down and with 30 minutes left to play.
It was a double switch that paid immediate dividends in a vivid display of the versatility of both team and coach.
The two combined to set up the all-important equaliser for veteran Henrico Botes and a draw that now puts Wits in the driving seat in their bid to reach next month's final.
"It was very difficult, the pitch was no good," confirmed Wits winger Elias Pelembe afterwards. "But it was the same for both teams. This was a case of not giving up, just keeping going. It was not beautiful football but we got a result. We played the way the coach said we must and now we have an away goal."
Wits in driving seat
Bidvest Wits coach Gavin Hunt showed no regard for reputation when setting out his stall for Saturday's MTN8 semifinal first-leg match against Ajax Cape Town on a small, muddy pitch in Stellenbosch.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw and the result handed Wits the advantage with their home leg to come at the end of the month.
Hunt had little hesitation in benching his two star midfielders as he went with a "horses for courses" approach after pronouncing the pitch at the Coetzenburg Stadium unfit for football.
"You can't play soccer on this," he said before the game, tossing away plans for any creativity and instead setting up his side to nullify the threat through the middle posed by Ajax's pacy youngsters.
It was the sort of innovative thinking for which the 51-year-old rarely gets credit and has been the reason for his success over the years.
On Saturday, it was a bold step to bench both Sibusiso Vilakazi and Jabulani Shongwe and turn to the gritty Ben Motshwari and Phumlani Ntshangase.
Within 11 minutes of kick-off, Hunt's plan looked to be a dud as Ajax scored. But it proved the only time the hosts managed to engineer their way through a crowded midfield, where the play was intense with a ferocity in the tackling and a high turnover of possession.
The Clever Boys kept banging away as they dominated possession but squandered chances of their own, leading Hunt to throw away his original plan and bring on Vilakazi and Vincent Pule with his side a goal down and with 30 minutes left to play.
It was a double switch that paid immediate dividends in a vivid display of the versatility of both team and coach.
The two combined to set up the all-important equaliser for veteran Henrico Botes and a draw that now puts Wits in the driving seat in their bid to reach next month's final.
"It was very difficult, the pitch was no good," confirmed Wits winger Elias Pelembe afterwards. "But it was the same for both teams. This was a case of not giving up, just keeping going. It was not beautiful football but we got a result. We played the way the coach said we must and now we have an away goal."