Da Cruz blames costly errors as Kaizer Chiefs are held by Polokwane City

Kaizer Chiefs coach Fernando Da Cruz says his team must stop making individual mistakes after they surrendered a lead to draw 1-1 with Polokwane City on Saturday.

The result saw Chiefs drop two points despite controlling much of the match. Lebohang Maboe put Amakhosi ahead in the first half, but Polokwane City equalised when Brandon Petersen’s error allowed Giovanni Philander to score directly from a corner.

Da Cruz believes the dropped points were self-inflicted, particularly after his side failed to take advantage of the opportunities they created.

“We create chance, we didn’t make the break [score] and when you don’t make the break, you give the opportunity to the opponent to come back,” he told SuperSport TV.

“Since a few weeks when we make mistakes, we concede a goal, so we need to work.

“It’s very easy to analyse, before we didn’t make mistakes, we didn’t give chance to the opponent to score. But now since Richards Bay, then Siwelele and today Polokwane City, the opponent doesn’t create chances but we make big mistakes and we let the opponents the chance to score goals.”

The draw followed similar results against Richards Bay and Siwelele, with Da Cruz highlighting a pattern in which opponents have not created many chances but have still benefited from defensive errors.

Despite the frustration, the Chiefs coach said there were positive aspects to his side’s performance and urged his players not to lose confidence. Chiefs remain unbeaten in the league after their opening six games.

“We must not doubt, because we made good things but we are not enough killer in the two boxes – our and the box of the opponent also,” he added.

“But we also make good things, so we need to continue to believe in ourselves because we are on a good way.”

Chiefs’ failure to hold on to victory saw them fall to fourth place in the league standings. They have recorded three wins and three draws from six matches.

Amakhosi were overtaken by AmaZulu, who moved above them after beating Marumo Gallants on Saturday.

Da Cruz’s side now need to address their recent defensive lapses while maintaining the attacking progress that helped them take the lead against Polokwane City.