Baxter on the missed penalty

Stuart Baxter surveyed the wreckage of Kaizer Chiefs’ league defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns at the weekend and admitted the penalty miss by Lebogang Manyama in the second half was a crippling blow that proved costly after the dust had settled at Loftus.

Chiefs were trailing 2-0 after goals from Grant Kekana and Peter Shalulile, when Rivaldo Coetzee handed the visitors a lifeline as he blatantly handled the ball inside the area.

But second-half substitute Manyama spurned the gift from Coetzee and sent his shot crashing against the crossbar.

“We got ourselves a penalty and we missed. That was maybe going to be a barnstorming finish if we had scored it, but it wasn’t and we ended up losing the game 2-0,” he said.

The decision to allow a substitute to take a penalty has been criticised by many fans, but Baxter said he has little control over who assumes the responsibility during a match.

“If it was me and I was on the field and I was one of the players, I would have pushed Lebo away because that’s his first game back from injury. I don’t think it’s fair to give him that responsibility if it was me on the field.”