Nabi switches focus to AmaZulu after derby flop

Chiefs mentor happy with debutants Cele, Lilepo

Sihle Ndebele Sports journalist
Relebohile Mofokeng of Orlando Pirates drebble past f Kaizer Chiefs Njabulo Blom during their Betway premireship match at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.
Relebohile Mofokeng of Orlando Pirates drebble past f Kaizer Chiefs Njabulo Blom during their Betway premireship match at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.
Image: ANTONIO MUCHAVE

Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi was still proud of his troops' display despite losing 1-0, courtesy of Patrick Maswanganyi's stoppage-time panenka penalty, to their traditional rivals Orlando Pirates at a packed FNB Stadium at the weekend.

Nabi emphasised that they had to put the Soweto derby defeat behind them as quickly as possible as they host AmaZulu at the same venue tomorrow (7.30pm). The Tunisian vowed they would bounce back.

“We played with belief, confidence and with the DNA of a  big club like Kaizer Chiefs and that’s why it is frustrating to lose in such circumstances. But there is a game in two days [against AmaZulu at the same venue tomorrow], and we can’t keep on complaining but we must switch our focus to the next game,'' Nabi said.

“We want the players and supporters to be positive and I promise them that Kaizer Chiefs will bounce back. We lost this game but I feel there were a lot of good things about the team.”

The Chiefs coach felt a draw would have been a fair outcome. “I firmly believe that it's not the game we deserved to lose. On the balance of play, a draw would probably have been a fair result,'' Nabi noted, adding he was pleased with Amakhosi's progress from where they were last season.

“I am happy with the progress of my team, over the past five to six months the team has progressed with this project. Mentality has changed in the team when you compare to last season.”

Nabi gave new recruits Thabo Cele and Glody Lilepo their Amakhosi debuts after joining the team early last week. The Chiefs mentor was happy with the pair's contributions against Pirates, highlighting they had minimal time to train with the team.

“I believe that for the time they [Lelepo and Cele] were on the field, they showed some good quality but you must understand that they only trained for four days after long trips from Europe. They weren’t training regularly before they came but the few minutes they played you can see there’s quality, so we’re happy for the players who came on,'' Nabi stated.

Fixtures (all at 7.30pm)

Tomorrow: Chiefs v AmaZulu, FNB Stadium; Magesi v Chippa, Old Peter Mokaba; Bay v Marumo, King Zwelithini

Wednesday: Polokwane v Pirates, Old Peter Mokaba; CPT City v Arrows, Athlone; SuperSport v Sundowns, Lucas Moripe; Galaxy v Polokwane Mbombela

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