Kaizer Chiefs coach Molefi Ntseki is adamant that they are still on the right track despite their nail-biting 1-1 draw with Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday.
Chiefs are gunning for their first trophy in eight seasons, and that ambition could have gained a huge boost at FNB Stadium if they had beaten Sundowns in the first leg of the MTN8 semi-finals.
But it wasn’t to be, as Khuliso Mudau headed in Sundowns’ equaliser in stoppage time to cancel out Edson Castillo’s opener in the 61st minute.
It was a huge result for
Sundowns, who now have the advantage of an away goal heading into the second leg on September 23 in Tshwane.
Amakhosi will have to score away from home to have any chance of reaching the final and possibly ending their trophy drought – or else they’ll run the risk of repeating their exit from the same stage last season.
Last year Chiefs drew 1-1 with AmaZulu at home in the first leg, only to play to a 0-0 draw in the return encounter in Durban.
“Our plan playing at home was to win the game – we can’t be celebrating a draw,” Ntseki said.
“We are fully aware that it’s a
Cup game, so every moment you manage to score goals, it’s a moment you’ll manage to celebrate at the end of the day.
“So, we were looking forward to winning this one so that we can go into the second leg with confidence in terms of how we play.
“A disappointment comes out to be a setback, but you overcome that setback. In overcoming that, we need to take the lessons we learned in the league and today.”
Chiefs better take those lessons going into the second leg, given that they were let off the hook in the first half after Sundowns enjoyed 75% possession at one point.
Sundowns’ dominance, though, didn’t bear fruit as they failed to break down Chiefs’ defence, with Lucas Ribeiro’s only real chance on target saved by Brandon Petersen in goal.
Ntseki, though, was equally frustrated with his team’s performance in the first half, but he believes they were much better in the second.
“I still believe that we can do better, and we should not be carried away by saying that we drew and it’s okay. It’s not okay,” Ntseki said.
“The plan was for us to win this game because I think we had done the necessary analysis, and if we had one half – which happened to be the second – we could have won this game.”
With domestic action taking a two-week break due to the Fifa international window, Ntseki will have most – if not all – of his squad at his disposal as no player got a Bafana Bafana call-up.
National team coach Hugo Broos stressed that Chiefs are still the same, and haven’t improved, despite winning two successive matches prior to his final squad announcement for the two friendlies this month against Namibia and DR Congo.
Ntseki, of course, was disappointed by the observation of his national team successor, but has welcomed the break to work with a fully-fledged Chiefs squad.
“The Fifa break is coming at the right time for us to work with our players on the tactical part of the game, and also to give them a break in the physical demands,” said Ntseki.
“The technical team and the players are focused on getting things right and enjoy being on the pitch – something that means scoring goals and not conceding goals. And I think we are on the right track.”
IOL Sport