Kaizer Chiefs have stabilised from a dismal start to the season, but still need considerably more “game toughness”, coach Gavin Hunt said as his team approached halfway in the 2020-21 DStv Premiership with a home draw against Baroka FC on Tuesday.

Chiefs went to their fifth match unbeaten but plenty of mistakes made at FNB Stadium, and a second draw in succession having won three before that, point to there being plenty of work left for Hunt to do getting last season’s runners-up as competitive as they should be.

Saturday’s Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates at Orlando Stadium marks the halfway point for both Chiefs and Bucs, both of whom could justifiably feel that a win on Saturday would improve a less than auspicious first 15 matches.

“Yeah, there have been some highs, and I feel there have been more lows than highs obviously results-wise,” Hunt admitted, asked to sum up Chiefs’ first half of the season ahead of the derby.

“But you know we’ve made some unbelievable mistakes in the first round — individual mistakes that I haven’t seen in my time [coaching]. So we needed to eradicate those mistakes.

“But you know, we qualified for the group [stages of the Caf Champions League], and we did very well in the qualifying games. Sometimes that takes a lot off the league.

“But the league hasn’t been good. We certainly needed to be above 25 points, which we haven’t got yet [Chiefs have 18].

“There’s no doubt the signs are better in my eyes. But we need game toughness. We don’t have that.

“And that I can only push and pull and do whatever, as best we can. You know, that takes a bit of time.”

Wednesday’s draw against Baroka was a case in point of match toughness lacking. Chiefs mostly enjoyed territorial advantage, and created chances, but the kind that Baroka were mostly able to deal with. Some wrong decisions in attacking positions could also have led to more chances, as Amakhosi lacked killer instinct to kill the game off.

Thamsanqa Masiya opened the scoring for Baroka against the run of play in the 53rd, and Chiefs had to rely on Goodman Mosele’s 76th-minute own goal to equalise.

“We should have scored, and Happy [Mashiane] should have scored, in the first half,” Hunt said.

“We didn’t take those opportunities and then I said at halftime that their danger was that their ‘27’ [striker Evidence Makgopa, who won the flick-on to set up Masiya’s goal] is a very good player for me. He kept on outjumping our centrebacks all day and then they scored.

“Then we came back in, and Castro chesting, he should have headed it in, and the other chance with his side-foot and he should have just hit the target.

“Anyway, but I’m disappointed with the result — that’s for sure.”

Chiefs (four wins, six draws and four defeats) are in seventh place ahead of the derby, and Pirates (five wins, seven draws and two defeats, for 22 points) are in fifth.

Amakhosi went their first nine matches with just one win, before their current unbeaten run (three wins and two draws).