Cape Town - It is ironic that coach Arthur Zwane would say this is his worst season at Kaizer Chiefs at a time when his team are enjoying a five-match unbeaten streak for the first time in six years.
When Chiefs laboured to a 2-1 win over Stellenbosch FC at the weekend, it marked their fourth consecutive Premiership win.
During this streak, Chiefs also won their Nedbank Cup last-16 match against First Division outfit Casric Stars.
Stars showed Amakhosi to be an average team, and again, Chiefs’ two-goal haul in the match included a penalty.
Their former German coach Ernst Middendorp managed five wins in a row in the 2019 season when he was doing his third stint as the Amakhosi coach.
However, two of these were cup matches, which Chiefs won through penalty shoot-outs. Hence, the club did not achieve five outright wins.
Steve Komphela – Chiefs’ coach in the 2016/17 season – guided the team to five Premiership wins on the trot.
From December 2016 to February 2017, Chiefs scored league wins over Polokwane City, Golden Arrows, Free State Stars, Maritzburg United and Highlands Park.
Komphela presently works for Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns and is the club’s senior coach.
In light of Zwane’s “worst season” fears, it is not the results or the quality of the team’s performances that is giving him sleepless nights.
Instead, it is the injuries to key players that is at the heart of his nightmares.
According to Zwane – who has served Chiefs in various capacities, starting with the youth teams and
later the Diski Challenge team – it was not only the plethora of players on the injury list, but also the host of suspensions that contributed to the limited number of players available for matches.
Zwane said he and his assistant Dillon Sheppard are dealing with selection problems that have never been experienced at Chiefs ever before.
On Saturday evening, Chiefs host Marumo Gallants at the FNB Stadium (8pm kick-off) and given Gallants’ poor form in the domestic league, Chiefs will be overwhelming favourites.
If the Glamour Boys win, it will be the first time since 2014 that the team have won more than five consecutive matches.
In the 2014/15 season, Chiefs won 13 games in a row across all competitions.
Despite their present run of success, many fans are not pleased with their heroes.
In many recent matches, Chiefs have failed to impress, and many wins came against opponents who had a player sent off in the match, in some cases, in the first half.
There is also the matter of penalties, and Premiership upstarts Stellenbosch saw four penalties go to Chiefs in two different games …
@Herman_Gibbs