Chiefs to play last two games ‘like cup finals’
Johnson urges Amakhosi to solidify top 8
Kaizer Chiefs interim coach Cavin Johnson has promised they’ll take their remaining two league matches as cup finals as they push for a top 8 finish.
Chiefs missed a chance to consolidate their top 8 slot when they drew 1-all against AmaZulu at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday. Ashley du Preez scored for Amakhosi while Victor Letsoalo netted for Usuthu.
Replays showed that Letsoalo was off-side when he headed home AmaZulu’s equaliser. Amakhosi next face Polokwane City, who are one of their direct top 8 rivals, at FNB Stadium on Saturday (3pm).
Chiefs and Polokwane are level on points in position eight and nine, with the former boasting a superior goal difference. Chiefs’ last league game is away to Cape Town Spurs, who are already relegated, on May 25.
“At this moment we want to win every game. The top 8 is very important to the club. It’s vital that we treat our next two games as cup finals.
“We’ve tried that [to take each and every game as a cup final] but we were unlucky in some of our previous games, where I think we didn’t play that badly but failed to score,” Johnson said.
Johnson was of the view that they played well against Usuthu, bemoaning the officiating on the day.
“I thought we had a good first half, I felt we should have scored more than one goal.
“But you know when you play and get an offside goal against you, which I think was clear [things become difficult]. During the first half, the officials also lost their communication, which I thought was very strange,” Johnson stated.
“But in saying that the goal was offside, I spoke to the fourth official and he said he can’t do anything. He said ‘Our mics are not working’, but we don’t worry about that.
“Coming into the second half, we had a penalty shout [which would have led to] a second yellow card for [Abbubaker] Mobara and he should have walked off the pitch and we got a penalty.”