Miguel calls on Kaizer Chiefs to match Red Arrows’ physicality in decisive Confederation Cup tie

Kaizer Chiefs must be ready to match and overpower Red Arrows physically if they are to reach the CAF Confederation Cup group stages, says vice-captain Inacio Miguel.

The two sides meet at Moses Mabhida Stadium this evening, with Kaizer Chiefs needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg in Zambia. Red Arrows, who play in the Zambian Super League, secured victory through a powerful header from Malian attacker Allasane Diarra.

Miguel, the Angola international defender, believes the visitors showed greater aggression in the opening match and says Kaizer Chiefs must respond in front of their home supporters.

“They were more aggressive than us and that’s something that the coach tried to press for us, that we have to fight, sometimes he feels like our team is too sloppy to get into the game,” Miguel said.

“Sometimes we delay to get into the game and the Red Arrows were there, they were ready to fight but now it’s our turn, we play at home, we play in front of our fans.”

The defender also appealed for patience from supporters, many of whom are expected to travel to Durban from across South Africa.

“A word to the fans it’s to understand that we’re also players, we also get frustrated, we’re the first ones obviously,” he said.

“The emotions that go on to the fans because sometimes they travel from far, like today we have the example of playing in Durban, people come from all over South Africa and I feel that we shouldn’t dissapoint them, all we have to do is fight.”

Set pieces were a notable strength for Kaizer Chiefs last season, although changes in defence and a different approach from the current technical team have brought some adjustments.

Miguel said the responsibility for preventing goals from dead-ball situations rests particularly heavily on the defenders.

“Yeah, obviously, especially me as a defender, going through setpieces defensively, it’s the time that I have to put my responsibility you know because the coach mentioned that in the field we have two, three players that are the leaders of the team,” he added.

“It’s not only one, it’s not only the captain so it’s my responsibility when we conceed a goal on the corner.”

Kaizer Chiefs have been working to improve their defending at set pieces, but Miguel accepts that errors are an unavoidable part of football and believes the team that limits them most will have the best chance of progressing.

“It’s something that we try to improve, it’s something that we work on as the coach said but yeah, it’s part of the game,” he said.

“Football is a game of mistakes and those ones that they concede less mistakes are more close to win.”