Nabi admits Chiefs lacked ‘spirit’ in Chippa draw

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Nasreddine Nabi said his side lacked the fighting spirit to deserve to beat Chippa United in the Betway Premiership on Saturday evening. 

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Amakhosi were held to a goalless draw by the Chilli Boyz at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, a major come down for them after the joy of beating Mamelodi Sundowns in last weekend’s Nedbank Cup semifinals. 

Chiefs’ Nabi – ‘We were not ready’

“It was a very tough game,” Nabi told SuperSport TV after the match. 

“To be honest we didn’t deserve to win. To win this game you must win your challenges, you must be number one for the ball. Mentally we were not ready for this game. 

“Even if we scored the opportunities (we had) we didn’t deserve to win. With our spirit today, if we won it was not correct. 

‘ChIppa deserved … a point’

“We discussed it after the win in the semifinal against Sundowns. It was very tough to prepare the players mentally, and to keep the concentration and focus in this game. 

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“Chippa deserved to win a point, they were fighting. I am sure even the statistics will show they made more challenges than us, they fought more than us. Football is tactical, technical and mental. If you are not ready mentally you can’t win.”