Zwane not worried by Chiefs strikers Du Preez and Bimenyimana’s misses
Image: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane rued his team’s “slow start” that allowed AmaZulu to score early, but said he is not “pressing panic buttons” on Amakhosi’s host of missed chances once they recovered in their 1-1 MTN8 semifinal first leg draw.
New strikers Ashley du Preez and Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana were guilty of missing sitters in an exciting first leg at FNB Stadium on Sunday. Zwane conceded that life would be easier for his team if they had slotted more chances so they could take a lead to the second leg at Moses Mabhida Stadium on October 23.
The coach, though, was more concerned at the dishevelled defending early on that saw Usuthu creating chances, one of which was put away by Gabadinho Mhango in the 14th minute.
Chiefs tightened up well and took control of the game, but it was only after the red card to AmaZulu centreback Veluyeke Zulu in the 54th minute that Keagan Dolly equalised in the 61st.
“We started very slow. We gave them time and space on the ball from the build-up,” Zwane conceded.
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“And from those build-ups you could see that there was a warning where AmaZulu had some chances where they might have capitalised but couldn’t, before they scored.
“Conceding was like a wake-up call, which was a worrying factor on our side because starting on a high note is something we’ve been working on.
“After that we showed a bit of aggression, created a number of chances and couldn’t capitalise. In the second half we came out stronger but still were not clinical enough to make our lives easy going to the second leg.”
The coach was less concerned over his team’s missed chances.
“In a game of football you create chances and score [a few of them]. It’s a game of mistakes and a game that teaches you to rectify your mistakes.
“We are obviously going to go back to training and try to polish our finishing because had we taken our chances it could have been a different ball game going to the second leg.
“We are going to have to dig even deeper now to score goals in Durban. But with the way the players exerted themselves, I cannot fault them — they gave their all.
“It’s worse when you don’t create those chances at all. They created space, ran into the right places at the right time and it was just the execution that let us down.
“But their keeper [Veli Mothwa] also made good saves. I’m not going to press panic buttons because we missed chances. We created a lot of chances and we’ll work on it and come back strong.”
Chiefs meet Swallows FC in a Soweto derby at Dobsonville Stadium on Wednesday night as the DStv Premiership returns from a lengthy break for a Fifa international window and the MTN8 semis.