TS Galaxy coach Sead Ramović calls for prayers for the people of Palestine

In a statement likely to be frowned upon by the Premier Soccer League (PSL), TS Galaxy coach Sead Ramović has ventured into politics by calling for prayers for the people of Palestine. 

As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to escalate, threatening stability across the Middle East, Ramović said it is sad to see innocent people being killed. 

“I would like to say that it has not been easy for the past days because I am sure all of you know what is happening in the world,” said Ramović after TS Galaxy beat Sekhukhune United 4-2 after penalty shoot-outs at New Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Saturday. 

“I would like to pray for the people in Palestine, it is really sad what is happening there. It should not be a political thing, absolutely not, but it should be a humanity thing.

“We should stop this because innocent people are being bombed and killed which is sad to see and I hope this will end.” 

Reflecting on the win over Sekhukhune, Ramović praised his players for a good attitude. 

“We played a good game and against a good opponent. We played tactically smart and you must know that this was our third game in six days and it is not easy. 

“I am proud of what my players have done, they showed great attitude, great effort. It is not easy to put in this kind of energy considering that we played two days ago against a tough opponent like SuperSport United where we were unlucky to lose the game. 

“We wanted to bounce back and I must give a lot of credit to my players because I see them at training and how hard they work. They have showed great attitude, everyone is intense and wants to improve and I am proud to be their coach.” 

Losing coach Brandon Truter was disappointed. 

“It was a bad result for us, we had an opportunity to go to the semifinal and hopefully win the cup. It wasn’t a good performance by us to be honest, we had two many players with below par performances. 

“But even as average as we were tonight, I still felt that we could have sneaked the game because Sekhukhune goalkeeper Badra Ali Sangaré did not have much to do.

“There was one shot at goal and one hit the crossbar but our chances were also few and far between. I didn't think it was a good game and we got to penalties which is a lottery and they managed to sneak it. Well done to them, they came through penalty shoot-outs. From my boys there were some poor penalties.” 

Truter said their focus for now is the league and it does not get any easier as they take on Orlando Pirates on Tuesday at Orlando Stadium. 

“We have to put this behind us, on Sunday we have recovery and travel back to Johannesburg and we are in camp again on Monday to face Pirates on Tuesday. 

“There are still other cups to play for, we have to focus on the league because our form there hasn’t been good. A win in this game could have given us the confidence going into the league programme on Tuesday.”