With regards to Ashley du Preez and Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana missing opportunities to win the game against AmaZulu, Kaizer Chiefs head coach Arthur Zwane wasn’t overly concerned.
In their first leg MTN8 semi-final matchup against the 10-men of Usuthu on Sunday afternoon at FNB Stadium, Chiefs were limited to a 1-1 draw, although the attacking pair could have given them a convincing victory.
After Veli Mothwa saved his original shot and the ball rebounded to his feet, Du Preez had a chance to score with the goal gaping, but he somehow skied the ball over the crossbar. Bimenyimana also missed a close-range opportunity in the second half.
But, according to Zwane, they will work relentlessly on the practice field to ensure that these missed opportunities do not come back to bother them in the future.
“Not much, you generate opportunities in a football game and score,” In the news conference held at FNB Stadium following the game, Zwane said, “It’s a game of mistakes and a game that teaches you to correct your mistakes.
“Of course, we’re going to return to practice and work on our finishing because, as you said, if we had taken advantage of the opportunities we created today, the situation heading into the second leg may have been quite different.
“So we’re going dig even deeper to score goals in Durban, but the way they [the players] exerted themselves, I think they gave their all, it’s worse when you get on to the field and you don’t create those chances at all.
Therefore, the generated space and running into the appropriate spots at the right times, it was just execution that fell short. But Mothwa, the goalie, also produced several strong stops.
“As I’ve stated previously, I believe we are on the right track, and I won’t panic because we wasted opportunities today. We generated a lot of opportunities, and we’ll work on it. We’ll return, and we’ll return strongly.
Prior to the second leg at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on October 23, Chiefs will now play league matches against Swallows, Stellenbosch, Chippa United, and TS Galaxy.
