Chiefs Coach: It Was A Bad Day

Kaizer Chiefs caretaker coach, Khalil Ben Youssef, repeated a common refrain, admitting that the draw with AmaZulu was simply a “bad day in the office” for the team.

The Chiefs’ biggest issues were their missed opportunities, particularly in a frustrating first half against Usuthu.

Their struggles included a penalty saved by Darren Johnson and the bizarre moment when Khanyisa Mayo, from an offside position, interfered with and prodded a goal-bound shot from Pule Mmodi.

Mayo should have left the ball alone, but his close-range touch saw the subsequent goal disallowed.

After all the first-half drama, Chiefs failed to generate the same threat in the second, as AmaZulu, led by former Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane, tightened up their defence.

Ben Youssef attributed the flat performance to mental fatigue, noting the club’s taxing schedule. Their win over Kabuscorp in the CAF Confederation Cup preliminary matches, which was decided by a tense penalty shootout over the weekend, left the players drained.

“What can I say? I have to say congratulations to the players because they showed good performance,” Ben Youssef said.

“We are coming from two strong weeks. We played every two days, and it was even a struggle in their minds, lots of emotions last week. But we discussed after the cup game the importance of this game. I think we have the same problem in the last third.”

He continued, highlighting their misfortune: “Every game, we dominate, we create a lot of opportunities. We even missed the penalty today [on Wednesday], we don’t score. Even when we scored, [the player] touched the ball but it was offside… It is not easy, we create a lot of chances, you concede a goal when you are at your best moment.

“Then you get a penalty, you miss the penalty, and after that, you score the first goal, you score the second goal, but it is offside. But you keep dominating the game, you keep creating chances. Let me say, it is a bad day for us. We were very unlucky not to score. Now, we have nothing to say, and we must continue to work and correct our mistakes in the last third.”