Kaizer Chiefs coach Khalid Ben Youssef apologised to the fans after Tuesday’s home loss to Stellenbosch but admitted that their opponents were full value for their last gasp 2-1 win in the Betway Premiership.
Chiefs led 1-0 at halftime but conceded twice in the second half as Stellenbosch came bouncing back to beat Chiefs for the second time in the month after eliminating them from the Nedbank Cup on February 4.
“First, we have to apologise to our fans. We are so sorry for this result,” said the Chiefs’ co-coach after the game which saw Chiefs slip eight points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, albeit with a game in hand.
“I think we dominated the first half. We were better than our opponents, we created a lot of opportunity. We missed a lot of chances in the first half. When you are better than your opponent and you get opportunity, you have to finish off the game, you have to score but we missed a lot of chances,” Ben Youssef added.
“We start the second half badly, conceding a goal in the first five minutes. Then we brought on substitutes to add the value to the team, but I think Stellenbosch were better than us in the second half and I think also they deserve to win this game.”
Chiefs are next up against Orlando Pirates in the derby on Saturday.
“Now we don't have a lot of time to discuss. In three days, we'll have another game, and also it's an important game. We have to think about the next game, and we have to continue to work and to prepare for the next game.”
Ben Youssef said the changes Chiefs made, bringing on Thabo Cele, Wandile Duba, Mdu Shabalala and Mfundo Vilakazi, all at the same time, did not have the desired impact.
“Unfortunately, the players coming from the bench didn't do what we expected from them. Sometimes we have to be critical of ourselves and to make a right analysis about our performance. Sometimes when we are not good, we have to say that we were not good and be ready to correct our mistakes,” he added.