PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – SEPTEMBER 23: Dejected Kaizer Chiefs players during the MTN8 semi final, 2nd leg match between Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs at Lucas Moripe Stadium on September 23, 2023 in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images)
What made the difference between Kaizer Chiefs not reaching the MTN8 final may not be the goalkeeping error by Brandon Petersen nor the alleged denied penalty against Mamelodi Sundowns.
Amakhosi narrowly missed out on the MTN8 final for the first time since 2015 after a 2-1 loss to Sundowns in the semi-final second-leg and were eliminated 3-2 on aggregate.
Read: Chiefs Rope In Extra Help To Assist Petersen
The biggest talking points were the Glamour Boys conceding within ten seconds after Petersen was dispossessed by Peter Shalulile, who scored into a gaping net and the controversial decision by referee Luxolo Badi not to award Chiefs a penalty in added time after Thapelo Maseko kicked Mduduzi Mdantsane in the box.
However, Chiefs made a big mistake, which could be attributed to their lack of experience on the field, after pushing numbers for a corner just before the half-time break and were punished on a counter-attack.
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Former Orlando Pirates and Sundowns midfielder Teko Modise says Amakhosi players have to take responsibility for conceding the second goal, as they did check what time it was to take such a risk of pushing numbers in the box just before the interval.
“It was a corner-kick for Kaizer Chiefs, the score is 1-1 and this has got nothing to do with the coach, I think at times we put so much in the coaching staff, I think the players need to take responsibility,” Modise said on The Pitchside Podcast YouTube Channel.
“In a game, when we played, we always used to look at the clock, we always wanted to know what time is it, because then based on the clock we know how to play.
“You look at the time Chiefs conceded (the second goal), they could have avoided it but because they are in this momentum, they took a risk (by sending numbers in the box) that never paid off,” he said.
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Chiefs had five players who were only signed this season in the line-up while in comparison Sundowns only had one.
Amakhosi head coach Molefi Ntseki also admitted that their lack of experience compared to the Brazilians could have made the difference.
“I think as a team you need to balance results with performance and I think Sundowns over time, we’re talking about so many seasons ago, they have perfected how to balance performance with results,” Ntseki said in a press conference.
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