Kaizer Chiefs head coach Molefi Ntseki has explained Sifiso Hlanti, Brandon Petersen, and Ashley Du Preez’s absence in their Carling Black Label Knockout Cup round of 16 clash against AmaZulu FC on Saturday night.
Amakhosi suffered a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Usuthu after conceding a late goal courtesy of Taariq Fielies.
Sadly, Ntseki had to be protected by the police following ugly scenes at the end of their Carling Knockout defeat to the KwaZulu-Natal side, as fans threw missiles at the coach.
The trio of Hlanti, Petersen, and Du Preez were not included in Ntseki’s final squad to face AmaZulu at FNB Stadium.
MOLEFI NTSEKI ON KAIZER CHIEFS’ TRIO ABSENCE
“I think in the last game we played against Cape Town City Hlanti was injured before that game,” said Ntseki.
“He was actually going through the return to training in terms of the preparations going into that game.
“George [Matlou] and Brandon [Petersen] got injured a day before we played Cape Town City. So, George managed to recover in time for him to be available for selection. But as for Petersen, he is still going through a return to go to training.”
Ntseki continued: “Unfortunately, for Ashley Du Preez, he got injured a day before we teamed in for Cape Town City’s run.
“So, those are the injuries sustained leading into this game. But we have quality players in the team.”
The former Bafana Bafana mentor went on to say that they just need to “regroup”. He further stated that they need to find a way of granting other players an opportunity to showcase their talent.
“We have to regroup and come up with a plan in terms of giving other players a chance,” he added.
“We saw Ranga [Chivaviro] starting today, and we saw Efmamjjasond Gonzalez coming in. So, the club has got players that were brought to help whenever they are in situations like that one of injuries.”
KAIZER CHIEFS’ NEXT GAME
Chiefs’ next assignment will be against Golden Arrows in a DStv Premiership showdown on Saturday, 28 October 2023.
The game will be played at Mpumalanga Stadium, with the kick-off set for 15:30.
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