Da Cruz says youthful Kaizer Chiefs attack must find its maturity

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Fernando da Cruz says a lack of maturity among his young forward players is behind the team’s failure to turn chances into goals this season.

The Amakhosi were aiming to respond to last Saturday’s disappointing draw with Polokwane City, but were held again after missing several opportunities against Golden Arrows. Lebohang Maboe saw his penalty saved during a lively first half, while Kaizer Chiefs also hit the post and created further openings after the break.

Da Cruz accepted that his side might have lost the match, with Abafana Besthende finishing strongly and producing the better chances in the closing stages.

“We made a very good first half, normally we need to score one or two goals in the first half. But them also they had two or three transitions, they were dangerous in this situation,” Da Cruz told SuperSport TV.

“In the second half, we controlled a little bit less the game, but we had again situations and could’ve lost the game in the end with the last opportunities for Golden Arrows,” he added.

Maboe, who has been a regular presence in the centre of midfield this season, was forced off early in the second half. His replacement was a positional change, but Da Cruz said the injury affected the balance of the midfield.

“We changed position for position for Maboe, unfortunately this injury arrived a little bit early in the second half so after it imbalanced the midfield,” he said.

The remaining substitutions were made with the intention of securing victory, as Kaizer Chiefs committed more attacking players in search of a breakthrough.

“But also the other substitution was to win the game, we changed an offensive player to win the game because we always try to win the game but unfortunately today, we touched the post and other opportunities but didn’t score,” Da Cruz said.

The coach believes the team’s wastefulness cannot be attributed to one specific problem. Instead, he pointed to the inexperience of the attacking players, while also stressing the quality they possess.

“We have a lack of maturity in our front-line, its young players but players with a lot qualities but they have a lack of maturity,” Da Cruz said.

Despite the latest stalemate, he remains confident that improvement will come if the squad continues along its current path.

“But we on the good way, we need to continue on this way and we going to win game and score goals, one hundred percent,” he added.

Da Cruz also felt the match offered encouragement despite ending goalless, saying supporters watching at home would have seen a good contest even though the scoreline showed 0-0.