Durban City squad still need refinement, alludes coach Gavin Hunt

They may have taken their second Betway Premiership win on Wednesday night against Chippa United at Chatsworth Stadium but according to head coach Gavin Hunt, Durban City FC still need to find a working system and structure.

A few moments of brilliance coupled with 80 minutes of shabby football will not make the cut against the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns. There were no real clinical passing sequences strung together by the Durban outfit with only a few through balls able to cut the Chippa defence. 

The one thing, however, that they had going for them against Chippa and which may have even been the deciding factor, was the level of positive intent they displayed.

Majority of the 90 minutes was spent in the Chippa half but City were just unable to make that final pass or goal conversion.

Kyle Kurgens and Haashim Dominigo engaged in the midfield dogfight and pushed the ball forward for City in the opening half. 

“If I had to be honest, I think we should have been about 2-0 up by half time but we were just unable to follow through on some good opportunities there,” Hunt told Independent Media after the match. 

Mid-way through the second half, Hunt decided to bring on last season’s City hero, Joslin Kamatuka. The 34-year-old Namibian player scored 14 goals last season in the Motsepe Foundation Championship- proving pivotal to the team’s promotion.

He brought with him a presence that helped the team push the ball over the line and send Chippa home disappointed. 

“I think most importantly we got the victory at home. It doesn’t matter how you win, but as long as you do it. I thought the game was a huge fight and credit to them for battling us. They sit deep and then play it long and run off and we needed to take care of the first ball which we did,” Hunt said.  

“They sat so compact on the back four with two in the midfield so it was hard to get in there. The pitch was bouncy and hard so the intricacy of the passing is going to let you down sometimes. 

“Tactically, the team needs work so we can play the way I want them to play but we also need to evolve a little bit. I didn’t want to come in and chop the house down. There was a foundation that they built last year and I think Simo (Dladla) did a great job with that.

"So I've got to give him the credit. I’m just trying to improve on it. I don't want to win with a team but a squad so we are just going for a bit of a break then back to work."

The decorated PSL coach has been with City for around a month after taking over from Dladla. 

City top the log after two rounds and with the MTN8 this weekend, they have little under a week to prepare for their first Durban derby of the season against AmaZulu at home. 

Arthur Zwane’s AmaZulu are looking to be the leading team out of KwaZulu-Natal but Hunt is tasked to restore glory to the Durban City name.