‘We were not good enough,’ Chiefs assistant coach Sheppard concedes after loss to SuperSport

Kaizer Chiefs have suffered the ignominy of missing out on continental football for another season and they will enter the campaign empty-handed and with utter disappointment. 

Their 1-0 DStv Premiership loss to SuperSport United at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Saturday, angered fans in Rustenburg and coach Arthur Zwane was hit by an object in the face. 

Zwane, who has been under pressure for most of the season, needed a police and security escort on his way back to the dressing room after the game as angry fans pelted the side with objects. 

“Unfortunately, he picked up a little bit of an injury to the eye. I don’t know what happened in the incident. I just saw him now in the dressing room putting some ice on his eye, I will have to find out the details when I get back to the dressing room,” explained assistant coach Dillon Sheppard who attended the post-match press conference. 

Asked to reflect on the match, Sheppard admitted they were not good enough in the loss to SuperSport. 

“Definitely, in the second half we were far better in terms of energy, in the first half we weren't able to have possession of the ball technically and we weren’t able to open the passing lines into deeper areas,” said Sheppard. 

“It is disappointing when you see our position on the log. We needed the three points to put ourselves in a good position to compete for third place. You can’t rely on the second-half performance where we created a few half chances here and there. Performance wise, we were not good enough.” 

Chiefs went into this match on the back of a loss to Orlando Pirates in the Nedbank Cup semifinal last weekend and Sheppard said they knew what was at stake in Rustenburg. 

“I think we are professional enough and we knew our position, especially that we were out of the cup, and we had the opportunity to fight for a continental place. 

“You want to come with the energy because we knew what we had to do. We created a few opportunities but not near enough.” 

Amakhosi are out of the running for third spot but Sheppard said they want to finish fourth when they take on Cape Town City on the final day of the season on Saturday. 

“We have a week to prepare mentally and physically, we have to use the ball better. We have shown in a couple of past games that we have been effective when we use the ball well. 

“Today (against SuperSport) we didn’t use the ball well and we found ourselves on the back foot, conceding that type of goal. I still have to look at it, but it was that kind of situation where there was really not too much danger. 

“We have the last game now at home and in front of our fans and we need to show that we really want to get the fourth spot. It is very difficult, you put in the work and you want to show in performances.” 

Sheppard said they understood the fans' frustrations. 

“Fans are not happy with what they saw today, it is only us who can make it right and we have to be positive in times like this. It is easy to look at the negatives but we have to draw energy from the positives. 

“We still have fourth place to fight for so we have to look forward to that.” 

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