Middendorp misses Willard Katsande Willard Katsande

JOHANNESBURG. — South African football giants Kaizer Chiefs lost again on Saturday night as they gave Mamelodi Sundowns hope in the Absa Premiership title race.

And, one man’s absence seemed to be telling . . .

The Glamour Boys suffered a shock defeat at the hands of AmaZulu at FNB Stadium, a first win for Usuthu over Amakhosi in 13 years, as the title race opened up once again.

Bongi Ntuli scored the only goal of the night as he handed Ayanda Dlamini a winning start and the club’s first win over Chiefs since March 2007, with the hosts unable to get back into the game despite a plethora of chances that they managed to create.

Long-term midfield stalwart and stand-in captain, Willard Katsande, was missing for the game as he recovers from a knee injury sustained in the Soweto Derby, and they once again missed his presence in the heart of the midfield as they again dropped points in his absence.

Chiefs have an 80 percent win in the 20 games that the Zimbabwean has featured in this season, winning 16 of them and losing just two, while they have now failed to win five of the seven games in which he has not played, losing four of them.

Ernst Middendorp admitted before the game that losing the 34-year-old was a blow given his importance to the spine of the team, and it will be interesting to see if the pattern continues against Bidvest Wits on March 18 — another game that “Salt & Pepper” is due to miss.

Middendorp also criticised his stars for being too casual during the shock defeat to AmaZulu.

Ntuli’s first-half strike was enough to hand the AmaKhosi to a third home defeat in the Absa Premiership this season. The German coach reveals he spoke about being too relaxed leading up to the Usuthu clash after last week’s Soweto derby triumph.

“From the beginning, was just too casual. We spoke about it during the week. I was hoping everybody understood the message,” Middendorp told SuperSport TV.

“Winning the derby, it is always something after this, you get relaxed, too relaxed, you putting yourself into it and you have a fantastic chance to make it 1-0.

“Too casual again, it just gets kicked in I’m talking about this excitement to make hundred percent sure.

“Ok, in the critical phase you get the 0-1 and now get to play against the wall and block of defensive, quite deep, you don’t get quite an open door and then you lose again,” he added.

“This is all what I’m talking about. It’s definitely when you find the right identity with the game, when you in and really in.

“I’m not taking it casual’ then something like this happens and then all of a suddenly getting yourself into a shocking situation, 0-1 three — four minutes before half-time so then all of a sudden you have to correct yourself as an individual.

“As a collective and then it’s difficult you play then into the cards-defensive work from the opponent side and then it’s a war as we have seen.

“We had enough strikers on the field to make it happen (equalise), but good it didn’t work. We have to ask ourselves what we have done today,” he said. — Soccer Laduma.

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey