Ben Youssef explains what cost Chiefs victory away to AS Simba

Kaizer Chiefs coach Khalil Ben Youssef is disappointed that they did not utilise their chances during their goalless draw with AS Simba of DR Congo in the CAF Confederation Cup.

Chiefs failed to win away in the first of the two-legged tie in Lubumbashi on Saturday, leaving them needing to win at home to make it to the group stages of the competition.

Ben Youssef says his team coped well with the artificial turf but could have gotten away with a priceless win had they taken their opportunities.

“You see the situation of the game, the pitch and the competitor,” Ben Youssef told the club’s media department. “We prepare our players before about the situation. They know it will be a tough game.”

Chiefs coach explains tactical setup

“Really, in this kind of pitch, you can’t play. So for that, we was only playing long ball like them, because it’s difficult to manage with this kind of pitch. I think the plan of the game. It was how we can manage the first 45 minutes, first we don’t concede, then we know that the opponent team, they will take a lot of risk.

They will try to press higher. They will leave us a lot of space. Then we will introduce our [Mduduzi] Shabalala, Ashley [Du Preez] and [Wandile] Duba to give us the speed and the solution in the deep.

“And I think the first half, we got two opportunities to score. We were unlucky. One of them crossbar of [Khanyisa] Mayo, and the second in the 88th minute, I think a good combination between Shabalala, [Mfundo] Vilakazi and then Shabalala give for Ashley.

“He was unlucky. Even it was an empty goal, he was unlucky. The ball was out. But the plan of the game, I think we succeeded in the plan of the game, how we managed the first 45 minutes, and we know that in the second half we will find a lot of space.”

What is giving Ben Youssef confidence?

Ben Youssef says Chiefs need to quickly put the disappointing result behind them and focus on winning the second leg at home but must be wary of conceding a goal that would give Simba the away goal advantage.

“And we got two opportunities in second half to score, but we were unlucky (not) to score. Now it’s finished, the first leg, first game, we still have another game,” he added. “Also, I think it will be tough for us. It will be difficult, the Simba team is a good team. They show us a lot of quality today. It’s a physical team, is not tactical or technical team. A lot of physique.”

“We have also the Siwelele game on Wednesday. We have to prepare it, and we’ll have time to analyse again, this game, and to find to prepare our team for the next game. Our target is geared to be first in the group stage, then to manage game per game, and we try to do our best to make our fans happy about the situation,” he further said.