Dylan Kerr bemoans indecision in final third as Swallows battle to take flight

Dylan Kerr says indecisiveness from his players has been the story of their lives after Swallows dished out another dominant display but failed to take maximum points in their 1-0 DStv Premiership defeat to Royal AM in Chatsworth on Sunday.

Kerr says the 14th-placed Birds' impotency in front of goals has let them down as they have battled to earn results that can lift them from relegation danger.

Swallows created the better chances, had more shots at goal, enjoyed a lion’s share of possession and played the last 20 minutes with a numerical advantage but ended on the losing side as veteran Elias Pelembe’s last-minute stunner cut like a knife into their belly to hand Royal their three points.

“To concede a goal like that right at the death is heartbreaking for the efforts that the players have put in today,” Kerr said.

“I’m frustrated, devastated and upset for the players after a very good performance.

“We were unlucky and we didn’t deserve that but at the end of the day it is the story of our lives.

“We dominate teams and teams play counterattacking football against us. We create all the chances that we create and get into in good positions to score goals, but we don’t.

“We get so well into areas where we can get behind defenders and it worked today especially in the first half, but [with] that final decision, that final pass and that final run in and around the box we never seem to pick a white shirt out.

“We’ve done it against Cape Town City [lost 2-1] where we should have gone 5-0 up in the first half, against Stellenbosch [1-1] where we should have had four goals in the first half and we did it against Orlando Pirates [1-1] where we could have had four, but we are not putting the ball in the back of the net.”

The defeat left Swallows in a tight spot of bother as they sit just a point ahead of TS Galaxy in 15th and bottom club Baroka.

Swallows have won just twice in their last 10 matches Kerr has overseen since joining the Birds, losing four and drawing four and scoring a paltry six goals.

Kerr feels his team could have accumulated more points had it not been for indecision in front of goal.

“It’s 10 games now since I have been here and we have done it all the time. If I didn’t do what I do in training then the finger points at me and I am accountable for that, but we do it every day.

“I am pedantic with it because to win games you need to score goals.

“There are opportunities we got behind, we got wide, got crosses, free-kicks, corners and we didn’t have someone brave enough to put in a header, brave enough to put their body on the line and say, 'Well I am going to score this goal.' It is very frustrating.”

Kerr said he is baffled at how his players are able to score goals during training sessions but struggle on match day.

The Briton said Swallows did their homework on John Maduka’s AM and worked on getting behind their defence.

He said he may deploy the same strategy when the two teams meet again in Dobsonville in the last-16 of the Nedbank Cup on Friday night.