Title race over for Kaizer Chiefs? Khanyisa Mayo remains defiant

Kaizer Chiefs striker Khanyisa Mayo insists the Glamour Boys are still firmly in the PSL title race despite their recent setback.

Chiefs head into Saturday’s Soweto Derby against Orlando Pirates on 30 points from 16 games, eight behind Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns, having played a game less.

Victory would get them to within five points and still have a game in hand and Mayo feels those writing his team out of the title race are making a grave mistake.

Mayo on why Chiefs are still contenders

“For me it’s about gathering my thoughts, knowing what I need to do as an individual and for us to close the gap, we need to get maximum points to close the gap in the title contest,” Mayo told the media on Thursday.

“I don’t think we have lost [the league] the game of football is about win, lose, or draw and we couldn’t get maximum points in certain games that we had to, so it’s a minor setback, and we as players need to say we can catch-up with the top three teams in front of us.”

“But the focus is now on the game on Saturday, and if we get those three points, it closes the gap to five points,” he further said, expressing confidence that they will secure a league win over Pirates after four straight PSL defeats against the Buccaneers.

Massive pressure on Soweto Derby rivals

Chiefs missed an opportunity to close the gap on Tuesday when they lost 2-1 to Stellenbosch FC, making their work more difficult ahead of Saturday’s blockbuster match.

A loss for the Glamour Boys would be a blow to their slim title chances as they would be 11 points behind Pirates and potentially Sundowns who face Sekhukhune United on Sunday.

With Pirates also coming from back-to-back defeats, both sides are under massive pressure to gain maximum points and it will be down to whoever will apply themselves well tactically.