Cavin Johnson explains Njabulo Ngcobo selection: Why Ditlhokwe & Kwinika missed out
Kaizer Chiefs interim coach Cavin Johnson has shed light on his decision to play Njabulo Ngcobo over Thatayaone Ditlhokwe and Zitha Kwinika in central defence in their DStv Premiership tie against TS Galaxy on Tuesday night.
The Soweto giants were held to a 2-2 draw by the Rockets at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane as the Mpumalanga-based outfit came back from behind twice. Ranga Chivaviro and Siphiwe Mahlangu scored braces for Chiefs and Galaxy, respectively.
Overall, Amakhosi made six changes in their starting line-up from the team that lost 5-1 to Mamelodi Sundowns last week Thursday at FNB Stadium in the league.
In defence, Given Msimango, who received a red card against Bafana Ba Style, was replaced by Ngcobo at the back. Another change saw Edmilson Dove return to the team from a one-match ban to take Ditlhokwe’s position. Unfortunately, Dove was sent off in the 45th minute of the game after receiving a second yellow card, and Ditlhokwe came in his place.
The last change in the defence was at the right-back position. Dillan Solomons started the game in the position of Zitha Kwinika, who can also play as a centre-back.
In the midfield, Yusuf Maart, who was not part of the matchday squad due to an injury, made way for Sibongiseni Mthethwa, whereas Mduduzi Shabalala came in for Edson Castillo. The other change in attack saw Ranga Chivaviro come in for Ashley Du Preez.
WHY CAVIN JOHNSON OPTED FOR NGCOBO OVER DITLHOKWE AND KWINIKA
The 65-year-old coach revealed that injuries, suspensions, and tactical considerations all played a role in his decision to start Ngcobo over Ditlhokwe and Kwinika, who featured in the previous match.
“Look, in respect to ‘TT’ [Thatayaone Ditlhokwe], Njabulo [Ngcobo] and Zitha [Kwinika], I think in the left and the right-back, we had Reeve [Frosler] and solid last year, and they did well,” said Johnson.
“I know Kwinika, who came in as a right centre-back and ‘TT’ as a left-back. That’s only because of Edmilson Dove being sent off. And Njabulo, in reality, was still recovering from flu [last game], so we had to keep in ice and make sure we tried to get by for that.
“But, selections are selections. I think whoever plays for Chiefs in whatever position and you’re available to play, then you must play.
“We would like to also, in all respect of coaches, you would like to play the same starting eleven every day in order to maintain stability. But you know how it works. In football, you have to make changes, and sometimes, changes are a lot more than you would like. It comes either with illness or injuries.”
Johnson continued: “Sometimes you have four to five injuries out of one game, and especially this time of the season, everybody gets flu or COVID. We, as technical people, have to do a lot of movement within the team.”
As things stand, Chiefs remain at position eight on the DStv Premiership table with 34 points from 27 matches.
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