Kaizer Chiefs boss Da Cruz frustrated by ‘stupid’ goals despite progress

Kaizer Chiefs coach Fernando Da Cruz says his side are developing in the right direction, despite their recent run of costly defensive errors and a fourth goalkeeping mistake by captain Brandon Petersen this season.

Chiefs surrendered another two important points on Saturday when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Polokwane City at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium. Lebohang Maboe had put the visitors ahead in the first half, but Giovanni Philander equalised in the 73rd minute by scoring directly from a corner.

Petersen was unable to keep out the delivery, placing further pressure on Da Cruz to remove the goalkeeper from the starting line-up.

Da Cruz was particularly frustrated because Chiefs had largely kept Polokwane City from creating clear opportunities, while Petersen had made two significant saves before the goal.

“For sure it’s very disappointing [to concede from a direct corner kick] because we made good changes when Brandon made two very big saves in the first half. We knew they’re good at set pieces and crosses, but when we concede this type of goal we should be disappointed,” Da Cruz said.

The draw followed similar defensive lapses in recent matches against Richards Bay and Siwelele. Da Cruz believes opponents are not consistently breaking through the Chiefs defence, but are instead benefiting from mistakes made by his own players.

“But now since Richards Bay, then Siwelele, and today [Saturday] Polokwane City, the opponent doesn’t create chances, but we make big mistakes, and we give opponents the chance to score goals,” he added.

The French coach maintained that Chiefs’ attacking progress remains a positive feature of their performances, with the team scoring in every game during the sequence he referred to.

“We just concede stupid goals, but we are on the right track because in every game we score. We will continue to attack and develop our model game. OK, we are disappointed with the result today, but we are on the right track about the adaptation of the players with our model game.”

The result means Da Cruz continues to face questions over Petersen’s position, with the goalkeeper’s latest error coming after three previous mistakes this season.

Chiefs will have little time to dwell on the setback, with their next fixture against Golden Arrows at Mbombela Stadium on Sunday. Kick-off is scheduled for 3pm.