Benni McCarthy says he was so nervous he went to the bathroom several times before coaching debut

Benni McCarthy’s players and staff were laughing at his obvious nervousness before his coaching debut on Saturday and the smiles continued afterwards as Cape Town City won to give the former Bafana Bafana marksman a winning start.

McCarthy’s maiden match as manager ended in a 1-0 victory over Polokwane City to book a place in the semifinal of the MTN8 next month.

“I don’t think I’ve ever needed to go to the toilet as much as I did in the three hours before this game‚" McCarthy said afterwards.

"I’ve (never) been in situations like this before‚ so it was weird.

"Even the players were laughing at how nervous I was.

"The other coaches were saying: ‘Are you OK?’

"I’d go there (to the toilet) and there would be nothing.

"It must have happened about five times!

“I’m glad this one has gone. Now it should come a bit more naturally.”

City might have won by a bigger margin had they not squandered several good chances in the match at the Cape Town Stadium.

“I wanted to just strap on my boots and get out there!

"But I don’t have a lot of complaints‚ we just need to finish opponents off‚ go for the jugular.

"We could have won by a bigger margin.

“I just wanted us to win but we were surprised by Polokwane’s way of playing.

"It only settled when we started playing our own way.

"But it was the first game of the season and there were a lot of nerves. I thought the players were a bit edgy too.

"In the end‚ we are all just happy to get over the line.”

McCarthy next faces a tough examination away at champions Bidvest Wits as they open the league campaign on Friday.

“They are not champions for nothing with the best coach in the country. We have to take our A-game if we are going to get something of out of the match.” - TimesLIVE