Ex-Chiefs striker opens up on Du Preez’s big miss – ‘A player may be unhappy with a coach’

Ashley du Preez missed a big chance for Kaizer Chiefs in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup's second preliminary round against AS Simba.

Just two minutes for the match to end, Mduduzi Shabalala did well to set up Du Preez, but with the goal at his mercy, he sky-rocketed his effort leaving his teammates shocked. The game ended goalless, ahead of the second leg this weekend. 

Former Amakhosi striker Phumlani Mkhize has now reacted to the big miss by the 28-year-old attacker.

Did Du Preez miss on purpose?

Mkhize has stated maybe Du Preez is not settled, explaining how losing his dad Abraham Jansen might have affected him. He also made a shocking claim that maybe he just missed the target on purpose.

“To be honest, I’m still shocked at how Du Preez missed that goal. I think it has to do with him losing his father. He tends to miss easy chances but scores the most difficult ones,” the former striker told KickOff.

“I’m not suggesting that Du Preez missed on purpose, but sometimes a player may be unhappy with a coach who doesn’t value them enough or who doesn’t start them in most games. This can lead to a player not putting in their full effort for that coach,” he added.

How Mkhize sabotaged coach Ertugral

“I remember when I was at Chiefs, I once missed an easy chance on purpose, just to spite our coach, Muhsin Ertugral,” he continued.

“We were playing in Cape Town, but I don’t recall the opponent. Jabu Pule [now Mahlangu] crossed the ball to me, and I deliberately missed what should have been a straightforward header and easy goal. The ball grazed the goalpost and went out.

“Only Jabu Pule noticed that I missed on purpose. He kept asking, ‘Mkhize, you should have scored there! How is it possible that you missed such an easy chance? You usually score these in training without any trouble,’” Mkhize concluded.