MIHLALI BALEKA
Kaizer Chiefs’ interim coach Cavin Johnson refused to fault his troops’ efforts after losing their second successive game in the DStv Premiership at the weekend.
The Amakhosi have had it rough this past week. They lost 1-0 to Stellenbosch in the league on Tuesday to all but relinquish their top-three aspirations. They were dealt a devastating and heart-breaking blow on Wednesday night, losing defender Luke Fleurs in a fatal hijacking incident in Roodepoort.
With that tragedy hanging heavily over them, Chiefs then succumbed to another loss, losing 2-0 to Chippa United in Mdantsane on Saturday afternoon. Many had expected the PSL to give Chiefs some time to mourn the defender’s death by rescheduling the match.
Instead, Chiefs still had to make the long trip from Johannesburg to East London, where they came unstuck. Johnson conceded that he was unhappy with the result but not the effort of his charges, which honoured Fleurs just the way he’d have wanted.
“The mood in the camp has been up and down for the last three days. One moment, we had to find out that one of my players and children was gone,” he said.
“We send our condolences to the family. We discussed with the players what their feelings were, and how close they were with Luke.
“We just had to clear the air as far as that is concerned but in saying (that), credit is that they look like they came out of that. But I am not a psychologist.
“From a football perspective, I can say that the performance and effort was the way in which Luke would have liked it.”
The loss to Chippa hasn’t only seen Chiefs lose ground in securing pan-African competition next season but they also now risk losing out on a lucrative top-eight finish as well. With only seven games left before their season concludes, Chiefs must do their bit by winning as many games as they can to remain in that battle.
“It’s very difficult to reflect on that. It’s the first time that we’ve lost back-to-back games. We need to look at how we lost,” Johnson said.
“We need to understand what we are coming from (the loss of Fleurs) and what lies ahead of us. We’ve got seven games left. We’ve got to take ourselves out of this position because no one can do it for us.”
Chiefs’ Achilles heel in the past few weeks has been their blunt attacking unit but it seems that their problems have now boiled over to defence as well. After keeping nine clean sheets in 11 matches before Saturday, Bruce Bvuma has now conceded in back-to-back matches for the first time since assuming the No 1 jersey.
That’s worrying for Johnson, who’s also made uncharacteristic changes at the back, even though he’s adamant that they’ll get things right soon.
“Not much is different. They all played in defence but maybe the condition of the pitch (was a factor in the defeat), but they were the same for Chippa,” Johnson said.
“I can’t put my finger on it, but we’ll get it right.”