Keanu Cupido of Cape Town City and Ranga Chivaviro of Kaizer Chiefs during the MTN8 quarter final match. Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
While they know that they have to swiftly move on and forget how they were knocked out of the MTN8, Kaizer Chiefs striker Ranga Chivaviro has admitted it still hurts to think about it.
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Chiefs were knocked out by Mamelodi Sundowns. But in the second leg of the MTN8 semi finals, the referee Luxolo Badi made some erroneous calls that proved costly to Amakhosi.
One of the standout calls that denied Chiefs a chance to advance to the final was a late penalty call where a Chiefs player was hacked down inside the box.
After review, it has been found that Bado made the wrong call in denying Chiefs the penalty and has since been suspended and put on a rehabilitation program.
“To be honest it is painful… It is still painful. But the reality is that we have to move on,” said Chivaviro on Monday.
Chivaviro was talking to the media ahead of Chiefs’ DStv Premiership match against Cape Town City set for FNB Stadium on Tuesday evening.
“We have to move on, there is nothing we can do about it. If there was anything we could do, we would go back and rectify the mistake – but we cannot.
“So we just have to be professionals and move on. But the bottom line is that it is painful and we are hurt,” added Chivaviro.
He said it denied them a chance to end the club’s long running trophy drought. But now they move one and look to keep their league momentum.
“We wanted to give the supporters something, we wanted to give the club a chance to win a trophy. But unfortunately, it was not. So, we move on.”
Chivaviro also spoke on the pressure that comes with playing for Chiefs whom he joined from Marumo Gallants in June.
“The biggest pressure to being here is that there are no days off, you are expected to perform with each and every chance you get to wear the jersey.
“It is not only from yourself or your teammates, but also from the supporters. So I think that is the difference between Kaizer Chiefs and other teams.
“Everytime you get a chance, you need to perform and you are expected to perform. So, when you don’t do that there is a lot of scrutiny that goes on.
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“I think that is the biggest pressure we face as players,” said the 30-year-old Limpopo born attacker.
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