Johannesburg - Kaizer Chiefs’ title aspirations suffered a huge blow after losing 1-0 to Sekhukhune United on their anniversary on Saturday, but coach Arthur Zwane remains optimistic.
Chiefs ended 2022 on a high as they won back-to-back league games, including beating Orlando Pirates, to rise to fourth on the log.
Zwane’s men were expected to continue with that purple patch on Saturday night as they hosted Sekhukhune at FNB Stadium on their 53rd birthday, but Chiefs came up short.
An early second-half strike from Vusimuzi Mncube sunk Chiefs.
A win would have taken them up to third after fellow title competitors Richards Bay and SuperSport United had lost.
Instead, they remained fourth on the log, 13 points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, but Zwane is optimistic his side will find consistency in the coming weeks and trim the gap on the leaders.
“We saw the opportunity to climb up. And we said to the guys that most of the teams in the chasing pack lost, so it’s a chance for us to climb up the ladder,” he said.
“But it wasn’t to be. But I don’t think that’ll happen for the third time. Against Chippa (United), we had the opportunity to go top, but that didn’t happen.
“Now, we had a chance to go second but that didn’t happen. It will happen at the right time. We are not bad in performances, I’m a proud coach.
“Football is a funny game. We might be losing, but there’ll be a time where we’ll gain momentum and win regularly. And we’ll get there,” Zwane added.
ALSO READ: Stellenbosch see off Galaxy's strong second-half effort in goalless draw
After dominating possession and creating plenty scoring chances, Chiefs let themselves down in front of goal while kudos should also go to Badra Sangare.
The Sekhukhune goalkeeper kept Chiefs at bay in a Man of the Match performance in his first start of 2023.
“Unfortunately, it was one of those nights where you can try everything and not score. I think their keeper kept them in the game as well,” Zwane said.
“I can’t fault the boys; they gave their best.”
Chiefs will want to bounce back to winning ways when they visit AmaZulu FC in Durban on Saturday.
But for that to happen Chiefs will have to be clinical, which is something that they’ve failed to achieve when Caleb Bimenyimana is not at his best.
With Bimenyimana being their only box-to-box striker, Zwane admitted they are keen on beefing up the team, eventhough they aren’t looking at one area.
“We’ll go for any quality player that’s available. We want to bring in players that can add value and deal with the pressure of being a Chiefs player,” the Amakhosi coach explained.
IOL Sport