‘A win and draw might see us through,’ says Chiefs’ Hunt

Kaizer Chiefs’ chances of making it out of the group stages in the Caf Champions League are now very much in the balance after the Naturena team were held to a goalless draw by Group C’s punching bag,  Petro de Luanda on Tuesday evening in Angola.

ALSO READ: Chiefs held by Petro in Champions League snore draw 

Amakhosi are third in a four team group, with five points and two games to go. They are equal on points with Horoya Athletic Club, but the Guinean side are ahead on goal difference.

Horoya were also held to a goalless draw by Wydad Casablanca of Morocco on Tuesday. This puts Chiefs in a rather awkward position as they still have a chance but will now have to also rely on other results as well.

A seemingly unlikely win against Wydad on April 2 on home soil, and an away draw against Horoya in Guinea could possibly see the Naturena side through. But Horoya may also need to lose or draw against Petro, which, based on the Angolan side’s form is pretty unlikely.

Still, Amakhosi coach, Gavin Hunt is still positive of a quarter final berth which would be something to cherish for the club who have had a season to  forget.

“We will have to get a win and draw, that might get us in. We have Wydad and then Horoya away which will be difficult. But yeah, we have had one bad result. I think we’ve done okay if you look at the results,” said Hunt after Tuesday’s draw.

Hunt said that at least they will play the last two games of their group stages campaign having had some rest during the upcoming Fifa break.

“I’m obviously disappointed,” he said of the draw against Petro. “But you have to take certain things into consideration. I think the team did well, and we have been going through this for months.

“We will now have to go through the weekend and we need a break (after that). We have one last push for the weekend and then there is a Fifa break.

“That’s going to help us just to revive us a little, we can see there is a bit of mental fatigue because of playing up and down…

“But the most important thing is that they are fighting,” explained the mentor.

Of Petro’s improved performance from what they were just over a week ago when they played them at FNB Stadium in the first leg, Hunt said they expected it.

“We knew they would be much tougher at home, and they were. But we also played in a way that we tried a counter attack and it worked. It was just our final ball in the attacking third that let us down and that was due to quality.

“We had some good moments, and they had their own good moments as well. But all in all it looked a tired performance from both sides, thus I think the draw was a fair result.”

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