Kaizer Chiefs coach Molefi Ntseki is gradually mastering the nitty-gritty of winning matches in domestic football.
Chiefs finally got their Premiership campaign up and running on Saturday as they beat AmaZulu 3-0 to snap a three game winless streak after one draw and two losses.
Pule Mmodi scored a brace before Edson Castillo put the final nail in AmaZulu’s coffin.
The victory ensured Ntseki could breath a sigh of relief after their last loss to TS Galaxy in Mbombela resulting in angry supporters pelting him with missiles.
But while Chiefs walked away with the points, leaving Usuthu winless and goalless in four matches after three draws and one loss, Ntseki was honest in his assessment of their performance.
“AmaZulu played the game, and we scored the goals, which was very important for us,” he said at FNB Stadium.
“We have had very good performances, but we weren’t scoring goals. But I think today we started the game on a high … I think the plan was well executed.”
Despite the scoreline, Chiefs were second best in terms of possession as Usuthu pinned them in their own half in the second stanza.
But that didn’t matter to Ntseki and his players as they got away with the three points after playing well in their previous matches only to come out on the losing side.
“In the past three matches that we played we had the possession, but we didn’t have very good last third entries in terms of the numbers and chances that we created,” Ntseki said.
“What was also important coming into this game is that we stayed compact and didn’t concede (even though) they tried to open up the game.”
With Chiefs not being possession-based on the day but managing to come away with the win speaks volumes of Ntseki’s progress in domestic football.
Ntseki is in his first head coaching job at club level, having worked for the national teams, including Bafana Bafana, in his previous gigs.
Pule Mmodi delivered a match-winning performance ⭐
Chiefs are up and running in the #DStvPrem 💪 pic.twitter.com/jYKPPAhBdR
While on the other side, it was hugely important to get the result due to limited time to work with different players from different clubs, he now knows the method works in club football too.
As Chiefs aim to continue with their momentum away to Stellenbosch FC on Wednesday night, they will have Plan B up their sleeves if Plan A doesn’t bear fruit.
𝙎𝙊𝙈𝙀 𝙂𝙊𝘼𝙇𝙎 𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙅𝙐𝙎𝙏 𝘽𝙀𝙏𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙉 𝙊𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙎 🤩 pic.twitter.com/SBvwPsPOvj
“As Kaizer Chiefs, we want to dominate performance and possession. But if we don’t have possession, what else can work for you?” Ntseki said.
“What will work for you is that if they create spaces on a counter, you go on a counter. But the most important thing is when you start to play from the back, you need numbers and options.
“Hopefully now that we’ve settled the nerves (especially of the new players) going forward we’ll be giving our A-game on all the matches we are going to play,” Ntseki said.
@MihlaliBaleka