Kaizer Chiefs' Nasreddine Nabi was pleased with the debuts of Thabo Cele and Glody Lilepo. Picture: Nokwanda Zondi/BackpagePix
Nasreddine Nabi’s Kaizer Chiefs have no time to lick their wounds following Saturday’s Soweto derby Betway Premiership loss to Orlando Pirates.
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Amakhosi will look to get back on the winning trail when they take on AmaZulu on Tuesday evening at FNB Stadium.
Chiefs battled gamely against Pirates but were ultimately undone by a last-gasp penalty.
The game also saw new signings Thabo Cele and Glody Lilepo make their Amakhosi debuts off the bench in the second half.
“I believe that for the time they were on the field, they showed some good quality. But you must understand they only trained for four days after long trips from Europe,” Nabi told reporters after the match.
“They weren’t training regularly before they came. But the few minutes they played you can see there’s quality so we’re happy for the players who came on. So thank you to the management for those signings.”
It remains to be seen if Cele and Lilepo get more game time against Usuthu. Chiefs’ other new signing, striker Tashreeq Morris, will also be available to face AmaZulu after serving the second match of a two-game suspension against Pirates.
Nabi is certainly likely to have to make a few changes, with this match coming so soon after the derby. One player who could be rested is Mduduzi Shabalala, who Nabi admitted was not 100 percent fit against the Buccaneers.
“He is coming from an injury and he’s been our best player so far,” said Nabi
“When you play in the derby, you need all your best players to be on the field. Even though he was not 100%, we felt he could give us something for 60 to 70 minutes.
“He was starting to get tired and we took him off in the second half.”
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AmaZulu are coming into the game off the back of a morale-boosting 2-1 home win over SuperSport United on Saturday. The result lifted AmaZulu up to 9th in the table, just two points behind fifth-placed Chiefs.
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