Kaizer Chiefs head coach Arthur Zwane has explained why it was important to take part in the Macufe Cup over the weekend in the Free State.
Although Zwane was left disappointed after his seeing his side go down to Royal AM on Sunday afternoon at the Toyota Free State Stadium, he wanted to use the game to “incorporate the players who are coming through the development ranks and fringe players.”
Some of the players who were part of the matchday squad included the likes of Happy Mashiane, Wandile Duba, Thabo Mokoena, Austin Dube, Sabelo Rabede and Samkelo Zwane, who made a good impression on the day.
Thwihli Thwahla got the better of Amakhosi 4-2 on penalties after a 1-all draw in regulation time.
Khabo Zondo’s charges took the lead in the 85th minute courtesy of Ruzaigh Gamildien, but the KwaZulu-Natal-based outfit’s profligacy was punished late on as Keagan Dolly scored an equaliser.
ZWANE’s COMMENTS
“Penalties are a lottery, but I think it was a good exercise for our boys given the fact that we came back from a goal down,” Zwane told SABC Sport in a post-match interview.
“I still believe we could’ve done much better from the few goalscoring opportunities we created.
“What we are happy about is giving other players an opportunity.”
The Soweto giants mentor went on to say that his troops could have pulled a much-better performance on the day despite giving other players the opportunity to show what they offer moving forward.
“The effort of the boys, they have done well, but we could’ve done better,” he added.
Even after being left baffled by the performance of his players, Zwane insisted that the aim of the tournament “to help the boys be on par with the other boys that have been playing regularly.”
“We were trying to put some mileage. That’s what the whole exercise was about today, ” explained the 49-year-old coach.
The Soweto giants have had a poor start to the season, and Zwane will be hoping for rejuvenation when the season resumes.
Zwane’s troops have only managed to win three of their eight league wins, and they are in ninth place on the log standings.
In their last game after the FIFA break, Amakhosi will take on AmaZulu on Sunday, 2 October, at FNB Stadium in the first leg of the MTN8 quarterfinal clash.
