Middendorp defends Castro after he is booed by ‘demanding’ Amakhosi fans at Moses Mabhida

LEONARDO CASTRO turned from zero to hero this past weekend as Kaizer Chiefs swept past Elgeco Plus of Madagascar 3-0 in the first leg of the first round of the Caf Confederation Cup at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

The Colombian talisman was jeered by his own supporters during the game when Amakhosi were still leading 1-0 via Philani Zulu’s strike but responded in a suitable manner as he netted the brace to give his side a comfortable 3-0 lead going in to the second leg on Saturday in Madagascar.

Amakhosi coach, Ernst Middendorp, wasn’t too impressed by the antics from the Chiefs faithful.

“Just one comment that I would love to make. I think Leo Castro, we should all love him. He is not an entertainer but Leo Castro is a scorer. I think we have seen it and that’s why we brought him to Kaizer Chiefs. He is a fantastic player,” Middendorp told the media after the game on Saturday.

Castro proved to be an antagonist for Elgeco late in the game with his two strikes in the dying minutes.

“Probably he wasn’t in the game for 10 to 15 minutes and everybody thinks that (he should be substituted) but I like these type of players. He came back and boom, he scored two goals and we got the result. I’m happy for him that he scored,” he added.

The diminutive striker, Castro, has delivered seven goals in 18 appearances for Amakhosi across all the competitions this season.

He has really formed a formidable partnership with Khama Billiat upfront.

Chiefs will travel to Madagascar to try and finish the job on Saturday.

“This Elgeco Plus side was well organised and well structured. They were closing the spaces.

“We saw some good opportunities being wasted in the first half. At the end we managed the game and got the results. We got goals to lay the foundation to go to Madagascar and move in to the next round. I’m quite sure that we are capable of setting one or two counters before half time. It is all about managing (our lead),” Middendorp explained.

Amakhosi’s real test will be at the beginning of next year where they will face Mamelodi Sundowns in their opening fixture of 2019, and they follow that with a short trip to Bidvest Stadium to come up against Bidvest Wits. Chiefs are currently six points behind the leaders Wits on the log, and occupy sixth place on the log.