How Solinas lost the plot, and the derby
Chopping players not bearing fruits
Kaizer Chiefs coach Giovanni Solinas’s aim of pleasing every player at the club is backfiring, but skipper Itumeleng Khune has come to his defence following their 2-1 defeat to rivals Orlando Pirates in the Soweto derby at FNB Stadium at the weekend.
The loss means Amakhosi have now conceded 15 goals in 15 matches in all competitions this season and the trouble is, 11 of those have been in the first half.
The Italian admitted they lost concentration against the Buccaneers but Solinas had difficulty answering why he’s been chopping and changing his defence.
It was then up to Khune to step in and he believes the constant changes, especially in defence, are not a big problem. “To be quite honest, there’s no difference whoever is playing in front of me.
“The coach believes in all the players, we believe in all of us and whoever is given a chance to play, we keep working on those combinations at training,” Khune said. Solinas, meanwhile, was adamant that Pirates didn’t have things their own way and the result could have been different.
“I think this derby [was] balanced. Pirates didn’t dominate and maybe Chiefs didn’t dominate, so congratulations to Pirates for [winning] this derby and we apologise to our supporters,” added the former Free State Stars coach. Chiefs have now gone four matches without a win and face SuperSport United at FNB in the Telkom Knockout last eight on Saturday.