Kaze: We Are Sorry For The Derby Loss
Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Cedric Kaze has taken full responsibility for the damaging Soweto Derby defeat to bitter rivals Orlando Pirates, admitting that the club’s supporters deserved better.
Pirates thrashed Chiefs 3–0 at a packed FNB Stadium on Saturday to move to the top of the Betway Premiership table.
The Buccaneers, who could have won by an even bigger margin after dominating the match, are now three points clear of Mamelodi Sundowns with 41 points from 18 matches.
However, Abdelsam Ouaddou’s side have played one game more than Sundowns, who can reclaim top spot on Sunday if they win by the same scoreline at Loftus Versfeld Stadium against Sekhukhune United.
“First of all, I would like, on behalf of the club, to apologise to the fans,” said a dejected Kaze after the match.
“Because they deserved better today [Saturday] and we were not up to the task. We have to acknowledge that.
“Millions of fans came to support us. That being said, this game emphasised the importance of the first 15 minutes — we needed to be on the front foot, to be alive, to be active.
“Unfortunately, we conceded from a short corner, even though we had prepared well how we were going to set up.”
Chiefs suffered a major blow before kick-off as first-choice goalkeeper Brandon Petersen was struck down by appendicitis and rushed to hospital on the eve of the match.
Kaze and co-coach Khalil Ben Youssef opted to start Bruce Bvuma, who was making his first appearance of the season, while Fiacre Ntwari was named on the bench.
Interestingly, the last time Bvuma featured for Chiefs was also in a Soweto Derby at FNB Stadium on 3 May last year — a match Amakhosi lost 2–1.
On that occasion, Patrick Maswanganyi beat him with a Panenka in the final minute after Relebohile Mofokeng had been brought down by Njabulo Blom.
“Brandon has been sick over the last two days,” Kaze explained.
“He was rushed to hospital and had successful surgery yesterday [Friday]. We wish him a speedy recovery.
“It was a very big loss the day before a Derby like this — to lose your captain and your goalkeeper. But Bvuma made some good saves, even though it was his first game. I think he should have been helped more.”
This result marked the first time Chiefs have lost a Soweto Derby by a 3–0 margin since the MTN8 semi-final in October 2020. In league competition, it was the first such defeat since 2001, when the late Lesley Manyathela scored twice and Benedict Vilakazi added the other goal.
