‘Heartsore’ Johnson admits Chiefs ‘just didn’t show up’

Cavin Johnson has said he is “heartsore” at overseeing Kazer Chiefs’ worst ever finish in the Premier Soccer League era, after they lost 2-0 at Cape Town Spurs in the DStv Premiership on Saturday and missed out on a place in next season’s MTN8.

Amakhosi ended up in tenth place in the table, one place lower than they finished in the 2001/2, 2006/7 and 2018/19 campaigns.

The 36 points from 30 matches that Chiefs registered also equals their lowest ever points total, though they somehow managed to finish eighth with that total in the 2020/21 campaign.

“As a coach, very, very heartsore,” was Johnson’s response to reporters when asked for his reaction to coming tenth in the table.

It seems even less likely that Johnson will be head coach at Chiefs next season, after this dismal ending. The Chiefs interim head coach was non committal on his own future.

‘For the future, I’m going to have to see,’ he said.

Ernst Middendorp’s Spurs, despite already being relegated, were by far the better side at Cape Town Stadium, and could well have won by an even greater margin.

“We just didn’t show up at all,” admitted Johnson to SuperSport TV immediately after the game.

“We couldn’t hold the ball, we couldn’t make more than five passes. It is the end of the season, there is another season in six or seven weeks and we have to see how we fix it up.

“We have to get a lot of work done behind the scenes regrading players and technical staff and how we get together again to make sure we take the brand to another level, and compete next season.”

Middendorp, meanwhile, could enjoy a victory over his former side, though it was a bittersweet result, given that Spurs will play next season in the Motsepe Foundation Championship.

‘Unbelievable’

The German head coach took over the side in mid-November, and managed to get five top flight wins this year, but still finished seven points off 15^th place. In the end, losing 14 of their first 16 league games of the season was just too much for Spurs to overcome.

“The development here in the last five months has been unbelievable,” Middendorp told SuperSport TV after the match.

“I understand to take three points from your first 14 matches that’s too much (left to do), but we can be proud of Cape Town Spurs seeing the players perform today.”