Moroccan and SA league are different, says Nabi on Chiefs’ scoring problems

Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi was measured in his celebration of his team's 1-0 Betway Premiership win against relegation-battling Magesi FC at FNB Stadium on Tuesday.

The win brought a measure of stability after a poor run for Chiefs of one victory, one draw and three defeats, leaving Amakhosi still battling in eighth place but at least five points clear of ninth-placed Chippa United.

Remarkably, only three points separate Chiefs from third-placed Stellenbosch FC. If Amakhosi can show some form of consistency in the run-in to the end of the season they can improve on their worst finish of 10th place last season by some margin.

However, the performances will also need to take a step up for Nabi's team as Tuesday's victory against last-placed Magesi came from a flat, laboured display.

“It's true that in the first half we were not good, probably due to the [four] changes we had to make regarding the availability of the players,” Nabi admitted afterwards.

“But in the second half we were a little better in a lot of areas on the field. In these sort of games the most important thing is three points.”

Substitute Ashley du Preez's 69th-minute goal gave Amakhosi the spoils against the top flight rookies from Limpopo, who remain rooted in the promotion-relegation 15th spot.

Nabi steered FAR Rabat to an impressive second place by a point to Raja Casablanca's unbeaten “invincibles” last season, his team scoring 65 goals in 30 matches.

The Tunisian was asked why Chiefs are struggling to score goals despite the numerous box entries they make in every match. Amakhosi have notched 22 goals to 24 conceded in their 20 Premiership matches.

“The Moroccan league and South African league are different. Even my colleague Rulani [Mokwena, the former Mamelodi Sundowns coach who is now with Wydad Athletic] feels the Moroccan league is a bit tougher and bit more technical and tactical.

“But if you come back here, the best thing is we're creating the opportunities. Big clubs like our clubs need to have big players and we work every day to try to score more and to improve the players we have to be better in finishing, scoring and creating opportunities. We believe we'll get there.”

Chiefs' coach asked for patience for attackers such as Ranga Chivaviro and Pule Mmodi who have struggled to score goals despite receiving enough game time. Chivaviro has three league goals in 16 matches while Mmodi has none in 11. 

“About Ranga, to play in a team such as Kaizer Chiefs you need to have a big mindset. It's a team with a lot of fans which means the criticism comes easily. That's why you need to be strong mentally.

“If you're at your lowest you need to stay focused and be mentally strong and we hope Ranga is getting that. 

“About Pule, we're working with him on his finishing because we believe if he improves on that he's going to be a big player, because he's a player who offers us a lot of things defensively, offensively, in one vs one attacking. If he improves that [finishing] and it clicks, we believe he can even start for Bafana Bafana.”

Chiefs will have to improve their attack when they meet Stellenbosch FC in their Nedbank Cup quarterfinal at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday (6pm). Amakhosi will be lifted by the knowledge that Stellies are a team they beat twice in the league this season.