Nabi Defends Maart After Nedbank Cup Triumph
Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi revealed that club captain Yusuf Maart has faced unfair treatment from the fans this season, despite holding the captaincy.
Maart etched his name into Chiefs’ history books by scoring the winning goal in their 2-1 Nedbank Cup final victory against Orlando Pirates on Saturday.
Second-half substitute Ashley du Preez provided the cross for an unmarked Maart, who, just outside the box, unleashed a left-footed shot past Sipho Chaine, ending the club’s ten-year trophy drought.
This goal served as redemption for Maart, who had previously missed a penalty at the same venue in a league match against Golden Arrows in March, hitting the post in a game that Chiefs ultimately lost. Although Maart did eventually score a goal in that 2-1 defeat, it wasn’t enough to secure a victory.
“A player like Yusuf Maart has suffered a lot this season,” Nabi stated. “He has been unfairly attacked. But you saw his contribution as a captain; some even questioned his captaincy, yet look at what he delivered. Our message to the fans is that we need your support during our worst moments, to be there for us and lift us up.”
Chiefs were arguably second-best for much of the game, but Nabi’s second-half substitutions of Sibongiseni Mthethwa, Du Preez, and Mdu Shabalala completely shifted the momentum in their favor. They enjoyed a brief period of possession and capitalized on it when Du Preez’s cross led to the winning goal, finally ending their trophyless run.
“I believe that the changes we made with ‘Ox’ [Mthethwa], Shabalala, and Ashley gave us more energy and better balance, allowing us to get back into the game, control it more, and ultimately score the second goal,” Nabi explained. “After ten tough years, everyone wanted to win this trophy, and here we are.”
This victory also represented a form of redemption for Chiefs, who had previously lost in the final of the same competition at the Durban venue to then-second division side TS Galaxy in the 2018/19 season.
