Chippa United head coach Thabo September has broken down Kaizer Chiefs’ attack tactics following their goalless draw over the weekend. September expressed his satisfaction with his players’ sticking to the game plan after they held Amakhosi in Saturday evening’s Betway Premiership clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
In a tightly contested encounter that saw the Chilli Boys’ Sirgio Kammies and Aviwe Mqokozo miss clear-cut chances to put their side ahead and potentially secure all three points at home, September remained pleased with the team’s overall performance.
After the match, he praised the Eastern Cape outfit for successfully neutralising the Soweto giants and executing their game plan perfectly.
HOW CHIEFS’ ATTACK TRIED TO UNLOCK CHIPPA UNITED’S DEFENCE
“I think we played well, especially in the first half, we anticipated what they would be doing, overloading the side, and [Gaston] Sirino and [Pule] Mmodi, we handled that threat well,” said September.
Sustained defensive pressure from the Chilli Boys saw these two Chiefs players receive their fourth yellow cards, ruling them out of the club’s next fixture.
Despite the mounting pressure, September expressed relief that his side managed to stick to the game plan.
“There were moments when we were caught with some balls going over the full-back on the left from diagonal balls, but managing the game for them not to come through the middle was part of our game plan, and we did that very well,” he added.
Despite the lack of competitive fixtures within the province to maintain peak fitness, Chippa held their ground in the second half.
“Second half, I think we knew the legs hadn’t played for two weeks. It’s tough this side because when Highbury [football club in the Motsepe Foundation Championship] is busy, we don’t have any competitive games to play – so we play an in-house 11 vs 11 to try to make it intense to catch up with the Joburg teams and what they have that side.
“But we went back a little bit in the second half, then Chiefs managed to get some spaces where they can play, but they still played in areas that we wanted them to play, and we managed that part very well,” he explained.
The Chilli Boys will continue their pursuit of a top-eight finish as they travel to the Western Cape to face Stellenbosch FC in their upcoming fixture.
Article by Sino Tompela
RELATED STORY: ‘He’s not injured’: Thabo September on sidelined Andile Jali