Kaizer Chiefs head coach Nasreddine Nabi was upbeat despite Orlando Pirates securing their third consecutive Soweto Derby victory on Saturday afternoon.
Despite the defeat, the Tunisian coach hailed his two new players who made cameos in the derby. Thabo Cele and Makabi Lilepo came in the second half of the match but their impact was not felt as Pirates searched for the winner.
Nabi speaks about Kaizer Chiefs new players
Patrick Maswanganyi scored the only goal of the match to earn the Buccaneers a hard fought 1-0 win over rivals Amakhosi.
As the match appeared to be heading for a draw, referee Masixole Bambiso awarded a penalty in the 94th minute for a foul by Njabulo Blom on Relebohile Mofokeng. Patrick Maswanganyi stepped up to take the penalty and successfully converted it, clinching all three points for the Buccaneers.
Prior to the penalty kick, the Orlando Pirates bench anxiously hoped to secure the win. Maswanganyi executed a perfectly placed Panenka shot to earn his team the much-deserved points.
After the match, Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi hailed his player. “I believe that for the time they were on the field, they showed some good quality, but you must understand they only trained for four days after long trips from Europe,” said Nabi as quoted by iDiski Times.
“They weren’t training regularly before they came, but the few minutes they played you can see there’s quality so we’re happy for the players who came on – so thank you to the management for those signings.”
Having suffered his sixth league defeat of the season, Nabi will look for a quick turnaround as Kaizer Chiefs play AmaZulu midweek.
Did the Soweto Derby deliver?
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