Golden Arrows coach Manqoba Mngqthi is happy that Kaizer Chiefs did not fully turn up for the Premier Soccer League outing played last weekend at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
The Glamour Boys fell by a solitary goal in the initial meeting and were hoping to exert revenge on Saturday. However, Abafana Bes'thende struck through Nduduzo Sibiya and Knox Mutizwa on either side of Yusuf Maart's strike.
The immediate former Mamelodi Sundowns coach has now opened up on where his team went wrong before the Glamour Boys made it easy for them.
‘There were moments Arrows really suffered'
“We must also give credit to them. I think we started the game quite well and they came at us, [but] they made some silly mistakes in the attacking third,” Mngqithi opened up to the media.
“There were moments where we really suffered in this game more, especially in the dying stages of the first half, which is what prompted me to start making those changes [David] Lukhele was injured, unfortunately and he had a very good game.
“Then, immediately at half, I thought we must change a little bit in the midfield so that we can match the tempo of the opponents.”
‘We were unfortunate in the second half'
“I think our second half was much stronger, the first half chances were mainly created from our high press and they struggled to breakthrough and we got some very good chances that we did not use,” Mngqithi continued.
“We were unfortunate even in the second half with some breaks that we got, I don’t think we did enough to make sure that it ends up in a goal because we were getting behind them, how many cut backs we were trying on the right without succeeding, even now [Velemseni] Ndwandwe beats the opponent, because he was tired, Knox is in the cut-back position with no midfielder but unfortunately we have to accept that these boys have worked very hard and we must give a lot credit to them.
“Because I think they are willing and enthusiastic, they are forever trying and I fought with them at half-time because they were starting this habit of sitting back, and I said I want the second half for us to be on top of their faces. I think they did that very well,” the 53-year-old concluded.
