Chiefs were ‘second in everything’, Ntseki admits as missiles thrown in Mbombela

Kaizer Chiefs coach Molefi Ntseki admitted his team his team were “second in everything” as they capitulated to a 1-0 defeat to TS Galaxy at Mbombela Stadium on Sunday, where Amakhosi’s new coach had missiles thrown at him as he left the field.

Cans and empty bottles were thrown as Ntseki exited the field protected by a police officer's riot shield, the supporters frustrated at a start to the season where Amakhosi have one win from four league and cup games. Such actions from supporters cannot be justified, but will also be concerning for Chiefs as it is markedly early in the new head coach’s tenure for such scenes to occur.

Ntseki admitted in his post-match interview with SuperSport TV that Chiefs were not sharp enough in the contest against a fired-up Galaxy, who have two wins from three games

“Very disappointed with the loss. But I can attribute it to a few things,” the coach said.

“We did not look as sharp as we were supposed to be. We were second in almost everything.

“Whether in attack where we did not have numbers aggressively in the box; after losing possession we were not aggressive in applying counter-pressing.

“So I think maybe on the physical side of it we were not very sharp. But I think we can always improve on that because we’ve got another full week for the players to recover.

“If you look at the intensity of the game Galaxy were sharper than us. That is why we were second in everything.

“I think on the balance of play we applied ourselves in terms of the structure. But it’s something we can always work on.”

Chiefs began the season with a 0-0 home draw against Chippa United and 2-1 defeat away against Mamelodi Sundowns, both in the league.

They showed a big improvement — and gave indications of significant improvements in the depth in their squad as a result of their preseason signings — with a hard-fought 2-1 away win against Cape Town City in the MTN8 quarterfinals.

But they lacked direction, unable to stamp their authority on the game, against Galaxy.

“I think there have been up and downs. It has been hot and cold,” Ntseki said when asked about Chiefs’ start to the season.

“If you look at the first game we played, and then we had to play the second of the league, in the first half we were not as sharp as we wanted to be [in the first two games].

“In the last game we played [against City] we were spot on in terms of our plan and its execution.

“If you look at today and how we started, we were a bit shaky because we were not on the ball as we love to. But after 15 minutes you could see us playing more of a possession game.

“It’s just unfortunate that the few chances we got, mainly in the first half, we could not bury.”

Chiefs meet AmaZulu next in their league fixture at FNB Stadium on Saturday (5.30pm).