Johnson sorry for embarrassing defeat, vows to repay fans

Caretaker coach Cavin Johnson has apologised to "16 million" Kaizer Chiefs supporters for failing to beat minnows Milford in the Nedbank Cup last 32 tie at FNB Stadium on Sunday, promising to repay them by being effective in the remaining league games.

Chiefs' damning 5-4 penalty shootout defeat prolongs their trophy drought to eight seasons as their last trophy was the league in the 2014/15 term. This is because they have no realistic chance to win the league, the only competition they are left with, as runaway leaders Mamelodi Sundowns are already 14 points ahead of them with two games in hand.

"You have to apologise to the 16 million supporters [it's not clear where Johnson got this figure] that we have. I am sure they will be able to see or they have seen the game on television,'' Johnson said after the game, where his striker Ranga Chivaviro should have sent the team to the last 16 but saw his penalty in extra time saved by Milford goalkeeper Siphamandla Hleza.

"It's not that we allowed the team [Milford] to come at us, I mean they never had a shot at goal I think. We tried the best we could in order to get as far as we could in this particular tournament and with the trophy drought as it is at the moment, the only thing we can do is to repay back the people by playing properly in the league.''

What's more degrading about Chiefs' defeat is that Milford are struggling in the Motsepe Foundation Championship, where they've won just five of the 19 games they have played so far with nine defeats and five draws, sitting just a point away from the relegation zone.

Hleza was Milford's hero as he not only pulled out crucial saves and stopped Chivaviro's spot-kick in extra time, but he also converted the winning penalty to ensure Milford book themselves a last 16 ticket. Milford will learn their last 16 opponents on Monday night (6pm) when the draw is conducted at SuperSport Studios in Randburg.