Arthur Zwane admitted Chiefs were nervous in their win over Gallants. Picture: Sydney Mahalangu/Backpagepix.
Arthur Zwane has pinned his Kaizer Chiefs side’s lack of energy in their 1-0 DStv Premiership win over Marumo Gallants on Tuesday down to performance anxiety.
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He says the team were more concerned about not making mistakes and that didn’t allow for a fluent game.
Amakhosi, however, managed to do what is important as they earned a valuable three points and a win that Zwane says will build their confidence.
Amakhosi had been on a four game losing streak before Tuesday’s game and some rather schoolboy errors had cost them dearly.
“We anticipated a very awkward game knowing we are playing against a possession based team with highly technical players,” said Zwane after the game at FNB Stadium.
“We had to pack the middle and make sure we don’t give them space there. It worked well because they didn’t have too many goal scoring opportunities.
“That was except for the one instance early in the game where Rama tried to play an offside trap and the player beat it and they nearly scored from that.
“But from then we were switched on and we sent the message to Rama that he must not try to force the offside trap.
Zwane saw positives from the performance, which he will hope to build upon as they prepare for a gigantic clash against Pretoria giants Mamelodi Sundowns on Sunday.
“We looked balanced, but I was not happy with how we gave the ball away cheaply. It is however understandable because obviously at the moment the situation is tense, the results have not been coming. The boys didn’t want to make costly mistakes… because in previous games we conceded goals that we should not have.
“This game was always going to be an ice-breaker for us to build confidence for the next one. I think credit goes to the boys because they played their socks off.”
Amakhosi will have to dig deep for a result against a rampant Sundowns side, who have already clinched the Premiership title, making it five championships in a row.
Sundowns are now playing for records, especially with their striker Peter Shalulile chasing the 25 goals scored by Collins Mbesuma in the 2004/5 season, the current record for a top goalscorer in the Premier Soccer League era.
Shalulile’s strike against Sekhukhune this week, took him to 22 league goals for the campaign, with three games left to play.