Da Cruz praises Kaizer Chiefs’ fighting spirit after opening-day win

Kaizer Chiefs coach Fernando Da Cruz praised his players’ resilience after they began their Betway Premiership campaign with a 3-1 victory over Kruger United at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.

Chiefs appeared to be in control after taking an early lead through Flavio Da Silva, but Kruger United restored parity shortly before half-time when Khethukuthula Ndlovu found the equaliser.

The home side responded strongly after the interval, with substitute Wandile Duba scoring twice to secure three points for Da Cruz’s team. The Chiefs coach was particularly pleased with the contribution of the players introduced from the bench.

“I would like to thank the players for the three points because it is they who played this game. We controlled the game during the first 30 minutes and after the last 15 minutes we had a lot of pressure and we conceded an equaliser,” Da Cruz told reporters at his post-match news conference.

“And then in the second half, we started with the same intensity, same control of the game. I’m very happy with the players who came in because they kept the same level of intensity as we controlled the game.

“I’m very happy, but we need to improve and work again.”

The result means Kaizer Chiefs have won both of their matches at the start of the new campaign, having also beaten their opponents in the Toyota Cup last week.

Da Cruz believes his squad is beginning to respond positively to the style of football he is trying to introduce. However, he warned that two victories were not enough to provide a meaningful assessment of the team’s progress, with a long season still ahead.

“At the moment, the players like the game model we are introducing, and I hope that it will continue but it’s only two games and the season will be long and we have a lot of work to be done.”

Kruger United coach Abram Mongoya said his side’s performance should be viewed in the context of a disrupted build-up to the season.

Mongoya explained that his players had not been able to complete a normal pre-season programme and had lacked sufficient friendly matches before the competitive campaign began.

“I have to give credit to the boys because we had an abnormal preseason, very difficult because we didn’t have enough friendly matches,” Mongoya said.

“So, it is very unfair to judge them in this game and say they struggled. They did their best, I think there is a little bit of a gap between the players we had last season. You can see the fluidity once they play together.”

Elsewhere in the Betway Premiership, Sekhukhune defeated Durban 1-0, while AmaZulu won 1-0 away to Stellenbosch. Arrows and Chippa played out a goalless draw.

The story audio accompanying the article was generated using artificial intelligence.