Following yet another deflating loss in the DStv Premiership against Stellenbosch FC on Tuesday night, Kaizer Chiefs interim coach Cavin Johnson did not hold his punches in his assessment of his players.
Chiefs went down 1-0 to the high-flying Stellies, at what should be a fortress for The AmaKhosi - FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.
Devin Titus scored the only goal of the game just before the break, and despite the entire second half at Chiefs’ disposal to equalise, that elusive strike never materialised.
It’s unusual for an interim coach to criticise players, but that’s just what Johnson did after the match.
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— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) April 2, 2024
Kaizer Chiefs head coach Cavin Johnson following their loss against Stellenbosch FC.#SABCSportFootball #DStvPrem pic.twitter.com/R9nalB8B1y
We need to put different players on the pitch
“I thought the performance we put in tonight was not even half the performance we put in on Saturday. What can I say? We have to go back and try again, put different players on the pitch and see what happens,” said Johnson.
“In saying that, we just didn’t get it right tonight. I’m not happy with the performance from a lot of the players. We have to fix them up.”
The result left Chiefs in seventh position with just 30 points from 22 matches. It was also Chiefs’ eighth defeat of their campaign, and sees them 19 points behind runaway leaders Mamelodi Sundowns who have only played 19 games.
Johnson went on to comment on the technique of his charges.
“We need to box clever, and we need to play the ball better.
“I think the most important attribute is the players need to play proper technical [football]. They need to be better technically in a lot of moments they have to play. They have to pass the ball better. I don’t think there are times when we pass the better [than the opposition]. We’re not looking like we can pass the ball better.
“When we go 1-0 down, we’ve got 45 minutes to come back and be confident about the Chiefs players you are and play the proper ball, don’t just kick the ball. And that for me today was very disturbing for my players.”
Chiefs will now travel to East London to take on Chippa United on Saturday, who are third from bottom on the table.
“We have another game on Saturday against Chippa. We have to try our best. We need the points more than any other team in the PSL at the present moment and we need to fight.”