Duba hat-trick lifts Kaizer Chiefs ahead of Orlando Pirates derby

Kaizer Chiefs manager Fernando da Cruz says Tuesday’s 3-0 Carling Knockout victory over TS Galaxy can restore confidence before Saturday’s Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates.

Wandile Duba scored all three goals at FNB Stadium as Chiefs ended a difficult run of results. The two sides will meet again at the same venue in the Betway Premiership on Saturday at 3.30pm.

However, Da Cruz acknowledged that the performance against TS Galaxy was not among Chiefs’ best displays this season.

“Yes, it’s the game that we wanted to win for confidence but if you analyse well, it’s not our best game. We have played better games before,” Da Cruz said.

“In some games before we played better and had a lot of chances but we didn’t score.”

The result came four days after Chiefs were eliminated from the CAF Confederation Cup in the second preliminary round. Their campaign ended with a defeat by Zambian side Red Arrows at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday.

The loss prompted scrutiny of Da Cruz’s position, but Kaizer Chiefs sporting director Kaizer Motaung Jnr reaffirmed the club’s support for the Frenchman in a statement issued hours later.

Da Cruz said he was grateful for the backing and explained that he regularly discusses the club’s progress with Motaung.

“You must know I met with the sporting director at least once every three or four months to speak about the team and the project,” he said.

“The confidence he has shown in us regarding daily work is very important. Even if we win, draw, or lose, we need to analyse the situation very well. In our meetings, we always speak about the way in which we can improve the team.”

Da Cruz insisted that the result against TS Galaxy had not changed his assessment of his own ability as a coach.

“Today, I am not a better coach than last week when we were eliminated from Caf,” he said.

He also said the club’s board and sporting director had been closely involved in assessing the team’s performances and believed Chiefs had been unfortunate in recent matches.

“The board and the sporting director are there every day to see the commitment of the staff. When we analyse the situation, we feel we were unlucky with the draws because we deserved to win.”