Chiefs give up on league, go for CAF spot

Kaizer Chiefs striker Wandile Duba has thrown in the towel in the title race, saying they are now targeting to finish second or third as they've been struggling to maintain consistency.

Chiefs, who've won only two of their last five league fixtures with two defeats and a draw, host high-flying Sekhukhune United at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday (3.30pm), hoping to return to winning ways after losing to Golden Arrows at the same venue the previous weekend. 

Amakhosi are already 12 points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, who've two games in hand. Duba feels winning the league was now a far-fetched dream for struggling Amakhosi, aiming to at least finish third and bag the Nedbank Cup, which would give them a CAF spot.

“We see that things are not going well, so our goal now is to finish second or third and fight to win the Nedbank Cup,” Duba said during Chiefs' media open day at their Naturena headquarters yesterday.

As much as they're the third highest scoring team in the league with 16 goals, six behind joint-leaders Sundowns and Orlando Pirates, Chiefs have missed big opportunities that would have changed the outcome of some of the games they failed to win.

Duba feels as forwards they have let down their defence, which itself is by no means convincing, having kept only one league clean sheet with 16 goals conceded, the second highest in the league after Marumo Gallants, who've leaked six more.

“As offensive players, the club pays us to score goals, so obviously when we don't score, we put our defenders under pressure unnecessarily. We have to score goals to make sure that our defence is not under pressure,” Duba said.

Against Sekhukhune, who have won four of their last five league games with a draw, Chiefs will be without their coach Nasreddine Nabi in the dugout after he was red-carded in the tunnel against Arrows.

Assistant coach Khalil Ben Youssef insisted Nabi's absence on the bench won't make any difference. “Coach Nabi is with us. In training, he's been with us and he's preparing the game with us, so nothing changes with his red card. Yes, he will not be with us on the bench but we will be able to communicate with him,” Youssef said.

Fixtures

Fridayday: CPT City v Bay, Athlone (7.30pm); SuperSport v Polokwane, Lucas Moripe (7.30pm)

Saturday: Arrows v Galaxy, Mpumalanga (3.30pm); Chippa v Gallants, Buffalo City Municipality (8pm)

Sunday: Chiefs v Sekhukhune, Moses Mabhida (3.30pm)

SowetanLIVE