Da Cruz explains Ighodaro selection as Kaizer Chiefs beat Sekhukhune United

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Fernando Da Cruz has explained his decision to start Etiosa Ighodaro in attack during the club’s 2-0 victory over Sekhukhune United.

Ighodaro led the line for Chiefs on Wednesday after impressing Da Cruz as a substitute in the team’s MTN8 quarter-final against Golden Arrows. His inclusion also followed an injury to fellow forward Flavio Da Silva, who had started Chiefs’ opening match against Kruger United.

Da Cruz has used three different forwards from the start of the season. Da Silva was selected for the fixture against Kruger United, while Wandile Duba began the MTN8 quarter-final against Golden Arrows.

The Chiefs manager said Ighodaro’s performance after coming off the bench against Golden Arrows had influenced his decision to select the Nigerian striker against Sekhukhune United.

“We picked Ighodaro because Da Silva was injured before Golden Arrows, we put Duba in the starting XI, but Ighodaro came on and made a good performance,” he stated.

“Hence he was in the starting XI today.

“Because of the profile of Oghodaro we also need to improve our attacking game to give him more balls inside the box, because that’s where he’s best.

“Ighodaro is very strong physically and I wanted that he puts pressure on the defenders of Sekhukhune.”

The victory over Sekhukhune United gave Ighodaro another opportunity to lead the attack after a difficult period affected by injury. He missed large parts of last season before returning to feature for Kaizer Chiefs.

Ighodaro has made nine appearances for the club so far and has scored once. His goal came in a 3-1 win over AS Simba in the CAF Confederation Cup last season.

Da Cruz’s comments underline the importance of adapting Chiefs’ attacking approach to suit the striker’s strengths. The coach said Ighodaro is most effective when he receives service inside the penalty area, while his physical presence can also be used to apply pressure to opposing defenders.

The coach’s selection has therefore continued a run of changes in the centre-forward position, with Da Silva, Duba and Ighodaro each starting one of Chiefs’ early matches. Da Silva’s injury before the Golden Arrows fixture opened the way for Duba, before Ighodaro’s impact from the bench moved him into contention for the next game.

Chiefs ultimately secured a two-goal win against Sekhukhune United with Ighodaro starting as the main striker, giving Da Cruz another chance to assess how the forward fits into his plans after returning from injury.

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