Baxter asks for ’20 percent’ more after Chiefs loss to Sundowns

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Stuart Baxter was not overly upset with his side’s performance, even though they ended up being knocked out of the MTN8 quarterfinals by Mamelodi Sundowns on Sunday.

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Chiefs had to come back from 2-0 down early in the match to draw 2-2, but Kennedy Mweene was the hero for Sundowns in the shootout, saving four penalties, even though he appeared to break the rules of the game, and step off his line for each spot kick.

“It is a strong group, in as much as we were 2-0 down to the (league) champions, in a game where it is very easy to cave in,” Baxter told SuperSport TV after the match.

“It would have been easy for players to lose whatever belief that they had but we got back to 2-2 and it could have gone either way. Fatigue in extra time means no one plays well and with the penalties, if a goalkeeper has a penalties like he (Mweene) did …

“But I think we were ok, it was our first game against opposition in the sharpest of circumstances. I learned a lot from the game, and I hope the players have learned a lot. We have to get better and we will get better. If the players can give us 20 percent better than that, then I think we will be (a force) to be reckoned with.”

Baxter did admit that his side paid for a poor start to the game, going two goals down inside the first 25 minutes.

“At the beginning of the game we were way off it. Sundowns took command with good possession, and the timing of our press was wrong, our positional play at the back was wrong and possession when we won the ball was hurried and nervous.

“Going a goal down doesn’t help but gradually we played a little better and found a bit of rhythm and then then came the second goal. After that, for 15 minutes we played well, and we scored a goal in that time.

“Going into half time I thought if we can change a few things, we can make a fist of it. And the boys did, I thought they played much better second half.”