Kaizer Chiefs assistant coach Khalil Ben Youssef has provided an honest assessment of the progress of midfielder George Matlou and weighed in on whether Ranga Chivaviro will pick up form after scoring against Free Agents on Sunday.

Amakhosi overcame their Nedbank Cup round of 32 ghosts from last season when they were sent packing by Motsepe Foundation Championship side Milford FC. They secured their spot in the last 16 with a 4-0 thumping of Agents.

The fixture against the minnows saw long-term absentee Matlou complete a full game since his return from a knee injury that kept him on the sidelines for nine months and was walked away with the man of the match award. Ben Youssef is impressed with Matlou’s comeback and attributed the promising signs to the fitness coach’s hard work.

“Honestly with Matlou we have to thank our fitness coach Majdi [Safi], from the first day he arrived we checked the injury history of George Matlou, and he did a lot of work with him. Now I can say George Matlou is 100% ready to be with the team,” said Chiefs’ second in command.

“He started the last game [against Sekhukhune] and played 60 minutes, it’s step by step. In the first game, he played 10 minutes, in the second game he played 60 minutes and now he played 90 minutes, so we are so proud of him.”

The Tunisian went on to hail the 26-year-old’s ability and impact on the pitch, suggesting the player has a prominent role to play, provided he stays fit. 

“Even in the game, he was so good, tactically smart player and I hope he will help us this season,” he continued.

Meanwhile, Nareddine Nabi’s right-hand man believes Chivaviro, who has been blowing hot and cold this campaign, will benefit from finding the back of the net for the first time in five outings. 

The center-forward has scored five goals in 16 matches in all competitions.

“For sure this goal will help him a lot you know, last time Ranga was unlucky that he missed a lot of goals. You know strikers are under pressure when they don’t score, we worked with him a lot, even our mental coach worked with him,” Ben Youssef added.

“I think now this goal will help him a lot and we need him because this season is so long, so we need all the players, and I think with this goal Ranga will come back.”

Furthermore, Ben Youssef has played down the notion that the Soweto giants are improving defensively after keeping back-to-back clean sheets and emphasized teamwork both in defense and attack.

“Defense is not only the last line but the whole team, we defend with 11 players and attack with 11 players. I agree we concede a lot of goals but how many chances does the opposing team get? If they get three or four chances that means we have a defensive problem,” the tactician stated.

“But if they get one or two opportunities and score, so what can we do? You can’t play a game without conceding chances, no team in the world can do that. I said before that we are unlucky, we have many opportunities to score but we don’t score, and that puts you at risk of conceding goals.”