Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi criticises officiating in Soweto Derby defeat
TOUGH DEFEAT Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi blamed officiating and missed chances for the Soweto Derby defeat to Orlando Pirates over the weekend.Picture: Itumeleng English/ Independent Media
Image: Itumeleng English/ Independent Media
An inability to finish the game off is what cost Kaizer Chiefs the Soweto Derby against Orlando Pirates over the weekend, insisted AmaKhosi coach Nasreddine Nabi.
In what was Chiefs’ 12th Betway Premiership defeat of the season, Nabi was once again forced to try and make sense of how his charges lost another high-stakes clash.
In fact, the 2-1 defeat to Pirates came after Chiefs scored in just the second minute through Glody Lilepo and as Chiefs had 57% of the ball throughout the clash.
At 1-0 up, Chiefs had the opportunity to double their advantage and did not take it— which Nabi believed proved critical. Finishing the game off, though, Nabi revealed, was not the fault of his players.
Missed Penalty and Lost Opportunities: Nabi Reflects on Game-Changing Moments
"If we had gotten that penalty, it would have been a completely different game. It is a game that we believe we should not have lost today. It is a situation that happens in football, and we feel that at the beginning of the game, we had control, scored early,” Nabi told SABC Sport.
"And had the opportunity to kill the game, and most of the time when you do not take your opportunities, when you have your best moments, you give the opportunity to the opponents to stay alive," he added.
With Chiefs down in ninth, they face again the prospect of finishing outside the top eight for a second season in a row.
Despite good preparation for the match, Nabi said the costly errors of Chiefs allowed Pirates to bag all three points.
"I believe it is a gift that we gave to them from individual mistakes, but I think we went in very well into the game, leading early, and we feel again that there is a penalty that should have been given.”
"The goal that we conceded was a counter-attack for us. We lost the ball, and we conceded, and it was a very tough moment, but we feel that when you have the opportunity to score and kill the game, then you have to do it.”