Kaizer Chiefs lost their fifth consecutive Soweto Derby against old rivals Orlando Pirates, across all competitions, last weekend when they fell 2-1 in the Premier Soccer League at the FNB Stadium.
A good start from the Nasreddine Nabi-led team saw them take an early lead, but concentration lapses allowed the Sea Robbers to respond through Evidence Makgopa and Relebohile Mofokeng. Amakhosi ended the game with 10 players after a late sending off of their defender, Bradley Cross, for two bookable offenses.
The loss was a massive blow for the Glamour Boys in their bid to finish in the top eight in their bid to play MTN8 next season. They are currently ninth in the log with 30 points after playing 26 games. However, Bucs sustained their slim hopes of winning the league; they are on 49 points after 22 games, 12 points less than Mamelodi Sundowns, who have played two games more.
Former Amakhosi winger Junior Khanye insists Amakhosi failed to deliver owing to their low quality.
Kaizer Chiefs were not effective against Orlando Pirates
“Orlando Pirates allowed Kaizer Chiefs to build up. Also, marking Kaizer Chiefs zonally in the midfield. If you look at Mdu[Mduduzi Shabalala], you look at [Yusuf] Maart, and also this guy [Nkosingiphile] Ngcobo, they had all the time on the ball. But they were not effective. They had so much ball possession. They could’ve hurt Orlando Pirates if they were quality players,” he told iDiski Times.
“How many clear-cut chances do they create? Yes, it’s only this ball the goalkeeper piled away whereby Maart made a run, deep run, and [Pule] Mmodi played him, and then he had to cross. And then the other one [Tapelo] Xoki wanted to clear, and the goalkeeper made a save.
“But none other than that, Kaizer Chiefs, how many chances did they create? They pretended as if they were a good side in the first 20 minutes,” Khanye concluded.
The two teams meet again on Saturday in the Nedbank Cup final that will be played at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
