Chiefs sent scouts to Venezuela: Ntseki on how Amakhosi found Castillo

Edson Castillo’s rapid adjustment to South African football and influence for Kaizer Chiefs continued to impress as he capped a storming performance with a 94th-minute winner to earn his new club a 2-1 MTN8 quarterfinal win against Cape Town City on Sunday.

Coach Molefi Ntseki was able to savour not just his first win in his third official match, but also a rare show of muscle from Amakhosi’s starting XI and newfound depth off the bench as they earned a hard-fought win against quality opposition in a thriller at Athlone Stadium.

Ntseki was asked how Chiefs sourced Venezuela international Castillo, who led a fighting display at Athlone Stadium, where Ashley du Preez and ex-City star Mduduzi Mdantsane impressed as starters and Christian Saile, Tebogo Potsane and Ranga Chivaviro provided impetus off the bench.

The coach said the need for a strong, physical midfield player with good distribution was identified in Chiefs' audit on the balance in their squad at the end of last season.

“We had scouts going to Venezuela to watch him play and we saw he was a player we needed,” Ntseki said.

“We needed somebody with authority, with confidence on the ball and somebody with a bit of intelligence in dealing with situations, and I think he’s bringing that to the team.

“By the way it’s only his third game in South Africa and there is still more to come from him because he appears to be a very intelligent midfielder.

“He has to adjust to the pace and weather conditions in South Africa and also the understanding of the type of opponents we play against and types of players playing around him.”

Chiefs’ opening two games — a 0-0 DStv Premiership draw against Chippa United and 2-1 league defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns — were not impressive. But there were flashes of improvement from a club seeking to end eight painful seasons without a trophy.

While there is surely much work to do for Ntseki — moved from head of technical to replace Arthur Zwane as head coach in a surprise move in the preseason — to achieve consistent results, their improved depth and balance in their squad was on display against City.

“The good thing about me being part of Chiefs for the past two years was we did a squad audit and came out with a plan on having a balanced squad,” Ntseki said.

“Little did I know that I would end up becoming the head coach. And I think I must say well done to the technical team — coaches Arthur [now Ntseki’s assistant], ‘Sheppie’ [second assistant Dillon Sheppard], Rainer [Dinkelacker, goalkeeper coach] and Tlali [Mathibe, goalkeeper coach].

“Those are the guys who were working very hard towards the end of last season and at the start of this season we are a united front. And I think you can see it in the performance of the players.

“I always say trust the process and the process has stages, and the first stage was what we experienced today with a win and qualifying for the semifinals.”

Chiefs, drawn to meet Sundowns in the MTN8 semifinals, travel to meet TS Galaxy next in their Premiership clash at Mbombela Stadium on Sunday (3pm).