Hunt looking for momentum after first win
KAIZER Chiefs scored two goals in two minutes to secure a come-from-behind 2-1 MTN8 quarter-final victory over Maritzburg United at FNB Stadium to start the “Gavin Hunt era” on a positive note yesterday.
Maritzburg were the dominant team in the first half as Chiefs struggled to penetrate the defence of the KwaZulu-Natal side. But Chiefs will be encouraged by the fact that their play in the second half reflected that of what new coach Hunt is known for. They succeeded from well-planned and neatly executed set-pieces.
Back in an attacking role, 34-yearold Bernard Parker also proved to be a live-wire in attack for Amakhosi. The veteran struck the post immediately after the break and nearly found the back of the net again in the 50th minute following good combination play with Leanardo Castro.
Hunt said that the FNB Stadium pitch was difficult to play on, but he also admitted that his side was outplayed in the first half.
“We were pulled apart in the first half. I thought Parker was fantastic today. I’m trying to get the mentality right. Nobody plays well in the first game. Hopefully, this will give us momentum going forward,” said Hunt.
“Castro was rusty, but allowed (Khama) Billiat to move around. We
need another way of doing things, but that will take time.”
Maritzburg coach Eric Tinkler said that his team could have won the game in the first half after a spell of early domination, but conceded that his team must accept responsibility for their loss.
After a quiet opening 30 minutes of the game which saw the injury-prone Keagan Buchanan fall to the ground thrice, Thabiso Kutumela opened the
scoring in the 35th minute for Maritzburg. Buchanan took advantage of a wayward pass from Kearyn Baccus. It was a good individual effort from Kutumela who opted against passing to attacking partner Judas Moseamedi and found the bottom right corner of the net, beating Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune.
Maritzburg could have doubled their lead in the 42nd minute. A square ball from Moseamedi led to
Bongokuhle Hlongwane striking the underside of the crossbar which had Khune looking uncertain.
Chiefs appeared to have received a stern team talk from Hunt at halftime. The introduction of Njabulo Blom and Castro in the second half injected new dimensions into the Chiefs attack in the second half.
Yagan Sasman equalised for Chiefs in the 72nd minute following a pinpoint corner from Billiat. And it was
Sasman again who met another Billiat corner two minutes later to score an identical goal and his second of the game which put Chiefs ahead.
Chiefs were unlucky to have not been awarded their third goal in the 80th minute. Castro had Maritzburg keeper Bongani Mpandle beaten and was wrongly judged to have been offside. But Chiefs will nevertheless be very happy to be in the semi-finals.