KAIZER Chiefs missed out on the opportunity to face Orlando Pirates, who are driving high by losing to Stellenbosch FC in the Betway Premiership match at FNB Stadium, Nasrec, on Tuesday night.
Chiefs took the lead with a goal by Flavio da Silva in the first half in a game that looked like they would win the way it was flowing. However, Langelihle Phili and Devin Titus scored almost all of that for the Stellies in the second half.
Despite the fact that Chiefs missed the chance to move up to third place in the Premiership log, a win would make them face Pirates in the home game at FNB Stadium on Saturday with momentum. Pirates are still licking their wounds after losing to Casric Stars in the Last 16 of the Nedbank Cup last weekend. This means that they are under pressure to beat the Chiefs in order to restore hope to the fans since they have been beaten in two games in a row.
After the defeat by Stellies, Chiefs coach Khalil Ben Youssef said they should have finished with Stellies in the first half.
“If you control the game in the first half, you have to finish. If you don’t do that, what happened in the second half. I think we have to admit mistakes sometimes. We have to apologize to the fans. We have three days to think about the next game. If you get seven chances, you waste them all, even if there is no one in the goal, you lose by scoring a goal, what will we do after that?,” said Ben Youssef, who coaches together with Cedric Kaze.
These coaches will sit on the bench for the home team for the first time after the absence of Nasreddine Nabi, who were his deputies. The last time Chiefs faced Pirates in the Nedbank Cup final in May, they won 2-1.