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Zwane says being underdogs helped Chiefs past arrogant Wydad
"It worked for us, the way we planned, we knew if we go pound for pound with them, we would open up and give them space to punish us," said the interim Amakhosi coach.
Kaizer Chiefs coaches Molefi Ntseki and Arthur Zwane say Wydad Athletic shot themselves on the foot when they took his team lightly in their group stages duel.. (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)
Kaizer Chiefs’ interim coach, Arthur Zwane says Wydad Athletic shot themselves on the foot when they took his team lightly in their group stages duel.
After beating Chiefs 4-0 in a first encounter in the Caf Champions League group stages, Wydad sent their second string team to South Africa for the return leg. Even their coach, Faouzi Benzarti didn’t make the trip, sending his assistant instead.
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Zwane feels this arrogance on the side of their opponent helped his side remain an unknown entity to them. And Amakhosi used that effectively when the two sides met in the semi-finals stage, upsetting Wydad 1-0 away, and finishing the job with a goalles draw at FNB Stadium on Saturday night.
“It was never going to be an easy journey for us. We knew it was going to be tough because w are competing against the best team in the continent. “We knew their strength from day one, I think they will regret the day they decided to send their B-team. I think it’s more of a lesson especially for us that when you’re on the road, you don’t take anyone for granted,” said Zwane after Saturday’s match.
“We were obviously underdogs competing against them and they paid the price because I think if they had sent their best team that time, maybe things would have been different.
“Unfortunately for them, they took us for granted that time and we gave them something to think about and surprised them. They are a good team, there is no doubt about that. They are a solid team, good in defence, also very good going forward.
“But they also have their weaknesses like any other team whatever formation they put up there, we were still going to capitalise because we were always the underdogs.
“It worked for us, the way we planned, we knew if we go pound for pound with them, we would open up and give them space to punish us. They had a few chances today but Daniel Akpeyi came to the party… the whole defence did well,” said Zwane.
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