Nabi Attributes Chiefs’ Loss To Lack Of Match Fitness And Cohesion
Kaizer Chiefs coach Nassredine Nabi attributed their 2-1 loss to Marumo Gallants at FNB Stadium to the team’s lack of match fitness and cohesion.
Nabi noted that some players who started the match on Saturday hadn’t played many games this season, which affected their performance.
“We didn’t create enough chances and we didn’t show enough,” Nabi said, highlighting the team’s struggles.
The former AS FAR coach emphasized that the absence of key players and limited game time for others, including Zitha Kwinika, Happy Mashiane, Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, Sibongiseni Mthethwa, and Tashreeq Morris, significantly impacted the team’s performance.
Nabi also pointed out that the players who started the match lacked cohesion, having not played together before. “The fact that they didn’t play together before affected the game’s tempo,” he said.
Despite Glody Lilepo’s early goal, Chiefs failed to capitalize on their chances and were ultimately outplayed by Gallants, who scored through Daniel Msendami and Trevor Mathiane.
Nabi acknowledged that the result was disappointing and that there’s no excuse for the team’s performance. “It’s not a good game, the situation is not good, and there’s no excuse for that,” he said.
The loss adds to Chiefs’ struggles, and Nabi will need to work on building match fitness and cohesion among his players. With the right preparation and team dynamics, Chiefs can still turn their season around.
Nabi’s challenge is to get his players back on track and performing at their best as they are set to play two tough games in a row.
Amakhosi will face their neighbors, Orlando Pirates, in a league game on 3 May, then also on the 10th of this month as well in the final of the Nedbank Cup at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
