Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane has lamented the fact that they did not take their chances during their MTN8 semi-final second leg against AmaZulu on Sunday.
Durban — Kaizer Chiefs were dumped out at the semi-final stage of the MTN8 on away goals as AmaZulu held on for a 0-0 draw to add onto their 1-1 away draw at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday.
Amakhosi supporters packed the iconic former World Cup venue to near capacity in huge anticipation of Chiefs qualifying for their first MTN8 final since the 2015/16 season.
However the deafening noise wasn’t enough as Chiefs failed to find the back of the net, subjecting them to a heartbreaking exit at the hands of AmaZulu.
Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane, who has come under scrutiny in recent weeks, reflected on his team’s exit from a competition they’ve had huge success in yesteryear.
The 49-year-old praised his players, but reiterated the importance of his fairly raw team to learn from this year’s experience in building for the future as AmaZulu showed their experience and saw out the match.
“We knew coming into this game that they would try their best to slow the game down, get fouls and at some point we played into their hands with that, we allowed them to do that especially in the first half,” Zwane said.
“We know that we could have done better, we had quite a few half chances here and there but we couldn’t capitalise and that was the story of the first stanza.
“In the second half it was quite the same, we had a few promising moments and box entries into their final third but our composure inside the box let us down and so it wasn’t meant to be and we learn from this experience and move onto the next game.”
Prior to the match, Zwane spoke about his side being one of the best attacking units in the Premiership, as their trend of creating numerous chances brought about positivity heading into a game that required them to find the back of the net.
However, none of that was visible on Sunday and the few half chances they carved out were spurned by a low in confidence Ashley Du Preez. Zwane defended his No.9 and remained hopeful that he would get it right in the future.
“We’re coming from a game where Ashley scored a goal and he played very well in that game and even today he played well,” he said.
“But maybe at this point the teams we’re playing against are also planning for him, to try and make his time on the pitch a little difficult. Yes he did everything but he is going improve with time because this isn’t any other team, this is Chiefs and the pressure here is different than everywhere else.
Chiefs will have to dust themselves off quickly and start preparing for their titanic clash against Orlando Pirates in the league next week.
