Chippa United coach Morgan Mammila lauded his players’ application and fighting spirit as they emerged with a 1-0 away win over Cape Town Spurs on Friday night.

Ronaldo Maarman’s 42nd minute goal proved the difference as Chippa won a first game of the new DStv Premiership season, condemning their newly promoted hosts to a fourth successive loss in the campaign.

“I did not do a lot of coaching. At the hotel, I told them that if there is a match where they, they need to dig deep, it is this one,” Mammila explained afterwards as Chippa moved to six points from five matches.

“This is a match where they need to respect themselves, they need to respect their ability. This was the perfect match to do that because they gave me everything that I wanted.

“From the first moment for the match, they must go deep deeper, just to play for themselves, they must forget about me, they must forget about the team. It's all about them today because this team (Spurs) I knew is going to be a very, very difficult team because they were hungry for that win. And I was not surprised with their offensive line-up,” he added.

Mammila said after taking the lead at the Athlone Stadium he told his players at halftime to not give an inch to their hosts

“I said go and defend with everything that you can.”

It ensured a rare away win in the Mother City – the first since success over Cape Town City almost four years ago.

“I can't even remember when was the last time Chippa won in Cape Town but it’s been long. I said go and do it and win it. And finally, 90 minutes Chippa 1, Cape Town Spurs zero. Congratulation to the boys. I don't even need a single credit for this match,” Mammila added.