Durban — Kaizer Chiefs suffered defeat in the opening game of the season at the hands of Royal AM on Saturday evening and head coach Arthur Zwane and his side were left to rue a string of missed chances.
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Amakhosi suffered a major setback early on as they conceded a goal in the opening two minutes but did well to compose themselves and create a barrage of excellent opportunities to score.
Ashley du Preez, Yusuf Maart and Khama Billiat all had their efforts turned away by Thwihli Thwahla keeper Patrick Nyame and Zwane believes it was those moments that eventually cost his side the match.
"We took the early goal as a wake-up call and we created I don't know how many 1v1s in terms of goalscoring opportunities and if their goalkeeper is the man of the match then it should tell you that he's the one that saves them," he told SuperSport TV
A new look Chiefs side started the game brightly but faded and seemed to run out of ideas as the minutes rolled on. The speedy front three of Du Preez, Billiat and Dolly found it hard to break down what was a stubborn Royal AM defence.
Zwane, although proud of his side, felt as if his attacking players opted for the safer options in crucial areas on the pitch and lacked a sense of understanding and decision making in tight areas.
"Even though our energy levels dropped, I think we kept our composure whenever we had the ball," he said.
"We could've done a lot better in some instances where we opted to control the ball towards our own half rather than spinning on the half turn picking out the runners and allowing them to regroup.
"I'm proud of my boys' effort today, it's the first game and I think we're on the right track but today unfortunately it wasn't meant to be."
The Naturena-based club will have an opportunity to rewrite their wrongs when they tackle Maritzburg United on Tuesday at home.
IOL Sport