Solinas hopes for another big win for Chiefs against Zimamoto
Solinas admitted he has tried almost every combination in his bid to shut the back door, but so far to no avail as goals are still flying in.
Giovanni Solinas, coach of Kaizer Chiefs (Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix)
Kaizer Chiefs coach Giovanni Solinas will hope for another big win against Zimamoto of Zanzibar in the Caf Confederation Cup tonight, to help his team forget their frustrating Absa Premiership defeat against Golden Arrows at the weekend.
Amakhosi’s poor defending was their main let-down again as both Erick Mathoho and Teenage Hadebe committed fouls inside their own half which resulted in penalties that Limbikazi Mzava converted to give Abafana Bes’thende the 2-1 win.
Solinas admitted he has tried almost every combination in his bid to shut the back door, but so far to no avail as goals are still flying in.
“I don’t want to talk about my defenders, we win together and we lose together. We have played different combinations, everybody has played. We started the season with (Erick) Mathoho-Cardoso (Daniel), it was then (Ngezana) Siya-Cardoso then Siya-Booysen (Mario) and now it’s (Hadebe) Teenage-Mathoho,” said the 50-year-old Italian.
READ: Pressure mounts on Chiefs coach Solinas
He said the Hadebe-Mathoho combination worked well in the first leg in Port Elizabeth and he had hoped they would build on that performance and go on to become a formidable force at the back.
“The two played well on Wednesday and we wanted to keep the shape and momentum at the back,” explained Solinas.
Mathoho and Hadebe are unlikely to make the same mistakes today if they are selected.
The Zanzibar team didn’t offer much resistance to Amakhosi in the first leg as they tried to sit back and defend hoping Chiefs would not hit them. But Solinas’ boys were in mean mode and put four past Zimamoto, giving them a huge advantage going into tonight’s match.
“We will have to quickly regroup for our next match on Tuesday,” he said.
Chiefs have been away from home for the past two weeks, having played their Telkom Knockout semifinal against Orlando Pirates at Moses Mabhida in Durban and then Zimamoto in Port Elizabeth before returning to Durban for Arrows and are now away in Zanzibar.
However, they will have a little break at the weekend before they are due back to familiar surroundings at the FNB Stadium next Wednesday when they host SuperSport United.
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