Nabi: We Gifted Pirates To Win The Derby
Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi lamented that his team gifted Orlando Pirates their victory in the 182nd Soweto Derby, a Betway Premiership match played at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
Chiefs failed to effectively mark star player Relebohile Mofokeng, who scored the decisive second-half goal for Pirates after a well-executed combination with Deon Hotto.
This 2-1 defeat marked Chiefs’ fifth consecutive loss to Pirates across all competitions. Furthermore, Amakhosi’s winless streak in the league continues since their victory against Magesi on 4 March.
“It is a psychological thing because I believe that in this game, when we were leading 1-0, there was a clear penalty. Probably if we had gotten that penalty, the game would have been completely different,” Nabi stated on SuperSport TV post-match.
“And it was individual mistakes that allowed the opponent to score. It’s a game where we feel that today, the victory was a gift we handed to the opponent.”
Chiefs took an early lead in the second minute when Glody Lilepo turned and slotted home a pass from Dillan Solomons just outside the box, initially stunning Pirates.
However, Pirates responded, leveling the score in the 23rd minute when Mohau Nkota delivered a defense-splitting pass that allowed Evidence Makgopa to slide the ball past Bruce Bvuma, before Mofokeng secured the win for Pirates in the second half.
Adding to Chiefs’ woes, they finished the match with 10 men after Bradley Cross received his second yellow card, resulting in a red card.
“We started the game very well. We scored early, and I felt that we had the opportunity to continue creating more chances and to score even more,” Nabi reflected. “But we didn’t capitalize, and when we were playing well, we conceded a goal almost out of nowhere. In our best moments, we failed to kill the game.”
“And after that, in their best moment, they took the lead and capitalized. However, they were not able to hold on to that lead.”
These two rivals are set to clash again in the Nedbank Cup final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium next Saturday.
