Hunt dedicates Chiefs’ rout of Simba to fans
Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt dedicated his biggest win since he took over as the Amakhosi head coach to the club’s supporters.
Amakhosi hammered Simba SC of Tanzania 4-0 in the CAF Champions League quarterfinal first leg at the FNB Stadium, in Soweto, on Saturday night.
A brace by Samir Nurkovic and goals by Eric Mathoho and Leonard Castro put Amakhosi in the driver’s seat in the tie.
Hunt said it has been testing year for him since he took over as Chiefs coach and that he felt the pain and the frustration of the supporters.
Amakhosi fans protested outside the club’s headquarters in Naturena on Friday to complain about the team’s poor form in the league.
Hunt broke his silence about the protest and said he hoped that the big win over Simba would ease the fans’ pain.
The coach said the protest played a part in Chiefs’ comprehensive victory against Simba as he dedicated the victory to the supporters.
“Maybe that march helped us win. You have to respect the supporters and make them happy. A win like today will help to soften the blow — they suffered a lot and deserve a performance of this calibre and result,” Hunt said.
With his charges having one foot in the semifinals, Hunt had plenty of reasons to smile.
Simba, who conceded four away goals without scoring, have much to do in Tanzania in the second leg on Saturday.
The Tanzanian club have to score five unanswered goals to win the game in the capital, Dar es Salaam, or level the tie on aggregate to force the match into penalties.
When Castro scored the fourth goal, Hunt burst into uncontrollable laughter on the bench because he could not believe what was unfolding.
After all, Simba had topped group A with 13 points to finish their campaign in the group standings two points ahead of defending champions Al Ahly of Egypt.
Chiefs secured their passage to the quarterfinals by finishing second, tied on nine points with Horoya of Guinea.
However, Hunt’s men played the Tanzanian Premier League’s log leaders off the park and could have easily won by a bigger margin.
A jubilant Hunt said: “10 or 15 seconds before the fourth goal, I said the things we needed to do and the things that we need to work on and things that we need to do without the ball.
“We turned over possession and the goal came — that is why I laughed. I knew that when we turned it over we would score and it worked out — that is why I kept on laughing.”
There will be more laughter for Hunt if his side returns from Tanzania unscathed.
“We expect them to raise their game in Tanzania. But we can score one or two away goals and make it a mountain to climb for them,” Hunt said.
“Playing in the Champions League there is less pressure and we are more relaxed.”
Meanwhile, Simba coach Didier Gomes said his team would need a miracle to overturn the deficit in Tanzania.
“Chiefs were better than us and deserved to win. But it is not over yet. We will be aggressive at home.
“We have to win the next match to save face. Sometimes miracles are possible in football and we hope for a miracle at home,” Gomes said.