Two wins and two losses paint a bleak picture for Kaizer Chiefs, who face newcomers Magesi FC on October 30.
Nasreddine Nabi’s side sit ninth on the log, nine points behind league leaders Orlando Pirates, but with a game in hand.
For AmaKhosi fans, the thought of their archrivals enjoying life at the top will likely enrage them – the same applies to the Mamelodi Sundowns’ faithful; however, they have much less to worry about.
Lapse in concentration?
It was all looking good for the Chiefs until their game on October 26.
They looked like a team ready to challenge for the title; now they have a fifty-fifty league record, and it’s hard to judge which side of the seesaw they will experience next.
It was a busy off-season for the Glamour Boys, who, after finishing last season in 10th place, had a complete rehaul of personnel, from players to coaches, including Inacio Miguel, Gastón Sirino, Cedric Kaze and Nabi.
So, it wouldn’t be unusual for a team that is still settling in to make an early season mistake; but, having beaten SuperSport United 4-0 a few days prior, it was unfathomable that they would lose, let alone not score.
Frustration for Nabi
“It’s a game we controlled practically the whole game, unfortunately, we created many opportunities, but we couldn’t score, and the opponent had only one opportunity, and they scored it,” Nabi said to iDiski Times.
“Our young players need to understand to win a football game you need to put the ball in the net but we believe that it’s a lesson, even if it’s a tough one, we hope we can do better.
“We believe that today the mentality was good, was positive even after conceding the goal, they switched on, we pressed, we pushed hard, especially in the second half,” Nabi said about improvement in mentalities.
“We played higher, put numbers in the box, took shots, made crosses, we believed we could change the game, we want that kind of mentality.”
Upcoming Kaizer Chiefs game
Magesi vs Kaizer Chiefs: Wednesday, October 30, 19:30
Although early in the season, this feels like a do-or-die game for Nabi and his men, who would hate going into the international break with more losses than wins.
Newly promoted Magesi will be no walk in the park, having knocked Orlando Pirates out of the Telkom Cup two weeks ago.
Where do you think Kaizer Chiefs will finish the season?
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