Da Cruz says Kaizer Chiefs must cut out costly errors after Richards Bay draw

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Fernando Da Cruz says it is “not normal” for his side to concede goals in the manner they did during Wednesday’s 2-2 draw with Richards Bay.

The Soweto club extended their unbeaten run in the Betway Premiership at the Princess Magogo Stadium, but Da Cruz felt the result represented two points dropped rather than one gained after a series of mistakes allowed the Natal Rich Boys to score twice.

Brandon Petersen’s error in the first half gave Richards Bay an early advantage and set the tone for a match in which Chiefs were repeatedly punished for lapses, despite producing a performance Da Cruz regarded as positive overall.

The French coach said his players had controlled much of the game and continued to perform well after conceding, but admitted their errors had undermined their efforts.

“Yes, we conceded that goal but after we continued to play well. We made a good first half, but we made too much gifts to the opponents and we lost two much points,” da Cruz told SuperSport TV.

Da Cruz was particularly frustrated that Chiefs had conceded twice while playing the kind of football he wanted from his team. He urged the players to maintain their attacking intent and continue applying pressure rather than allowing the mistakes to affect their approach.

“To continue to play like that because we made a good first half, but it’s not normal to concede two goals like that when we play this type of football when we played so well so I asked them to continue to play well and to continue to push, push,” he continued.

Chiefs eventually rescued a point through Siphesihle Ndlovu, who scored the equaliser after arriving from the bench. Asanele Velebayi supplied the assist, giving Da Cruz further encouragement about the impact his substitutes can make.

The Chiefs manager praised the contribution of those players and said the early stages of the season had already shown the importance of having strength beyond the starting line-up.

“It’s the beginning of the season, our substitute’s player when they come in, they make a very good job, we need to keep this, we need to keep this mindset because we don’t need eleven players but we need a complete squad to look forward,” da Cruz said.

The draw kept Kaizer Chiefs unbeaten in the Betway Premiership, although Da Cruz’s comments underlined his belief that the team must improve its defensive discipline if it is to turn strong performances into victories.

For the moment, the result leaves Chiefs with a continuing unbeaten run but also a clear area for improvement: avoiding the costly gifts that allowed Richards Bay to remain in the contest and take advantage of their opportunities.