Kaizer Chiefs coach Zwane sees potential in Dove the centreback

Edmilson Dove’s presence as a left-footed centreback provides Kaizer Chiefs better balance in their build-ups from the back, says Amakhosi coach Arthur Zwane.

Dove joined Chiefs, who return to DStv Premiership action from the Fifa and MTN8 break against Swallows FC at Dobsonville Stadium on Wednesday night (7.30pm), from Mozambican club UD Songo, who he joined as a free agent from Cape Town City in February.

In four-and-a-half years at City the Mambas international established a reputation as one of the most forceful, tough-tackling overlapping left-backs in the Premiership.

Zwane has employed Dove as a left-sided centreback in partnership with Zitha Kwinika in Chiefs’ defence in a 2-1 league win against SuperSport United and Saturday’s 0-0 MTN8 semifinal first leg draw against AmaZulu. The coach said he was impressed with what the 28-year-old had to offer there.

“Yes, maybe in the SuperSport game he made a few mistakes and it looked like he was a bit shaky. Obviously when we brought him in he was going to compete as a left fullback,” Zwane said.

“But he’s got the quality and you saw it against AmaZulu. Even against SuperSport he gave us a good balance, because he’s a left-footed player and that has been our problem.

“It made us predictable, especially for the opposition to close the spaces when we were building up. We wouldn’t want to just kick the ball forwards — we want to build from the back, find the holes and exploit those spaces because we’ve got explosive players upfront.

“But you must know how to use them and when to play the ball to them. So I think he has given us the balance we’ve been looking for.

“I thought he was one of the man-of-the-match candidates [against AmaZulu]. He was very strong on the ball, aggressive and I can’t remember him losing the ball — maybe he did once in the 90 minutes.”

Chiefs are in ninth place with three wins, two draws and two defeats from eight matches.

Amakhosi will hope for a win in the Soweto derby against 14th-placed Swallows, who will have Musa Nyatama as caretaker coach after the sacking of Dylan Kerr.