‘Calmer’ Chiefs have Johnson hoping it is coming together

Cavin Johnson has been emphasising the need for a calmer approach to his Kaizer Chiefs players, and it showed in Wednesday’s game. 

ALSO READ: Johnson gets first win as Chiefs fight past Spurs

In a match played at FNB Stadium without fans, Chiefs secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Cape Town Spurs.

Johnson, serving as the stand-in coach after Molefi Ntseki’s recent departure at Chiefs, expressed his satisfaction, particularly since it was only his second match in charge. 

In his first game against Golden Arrows, the team displayed a disjointed and rushed performance, resulting in a loss. 

However, in Wednesday’s match, they showed improvement, although old habits of conceding at critical moments resurfaced. 

Despite the challenges, Johnson’s focus on instilling a calmer approach seems to be making a positive impact on the team.

“It is our second game together. We had 48 hours of training and, uh, I thought it was a game of lots of patches. 

“We have to give credit to Cape Town Spurs, they gave us a good run for our money,” said Johnson in the post-match media conference. 

“But we have been working hard at being a lot calmer, being a lot… yeah, calmer, playing the ball better. 

“And getting the balls into certain areas where we think we can hurt (opposing) teams. 

“I thought the three goals we scored came from the way we trained. And, uh, I have to give credit to them. 

“I thought, like I said, they put up a great shift in patches. But football is made out of moments,” said the former AmaZulu FC mentor. 

Johnson cites the good and bad of Chiefs’ performance

Johnson was happy that his team could pick the right moments to attack and get the goals, but disappointed with how they conceded. 

“And the moments that we wanted to score, we scored the goals. But then we also dropped our heads, and those are the moments we conceded. 

“And when you look at the goals we conceded, they came very late. In the first one, a critical moment of the game. And the second also late in the game.”

Now, Johnson’s attention turns to what could be the most significant game of his coaching career: the renowned Soweto derby. 

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Chiefs will welcome Orlando Pirates at FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon in a match anticipated to draw a full-capacity crowd.