Nabi hopes for better from Chiefs in second half of season

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Nasreddine Nabi has admitted he wants greater consistency from his Amakhosi side, heading into the second half of the Betway Premiership season.

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Chiefs will travel to the Western Cape on Friday evening to take on Stellenbosch FC, having dropped yet more points in midweek with a 2-2 draw at home to AmaZulu.

Nabi’s Chiefs are way back

Nabi’s side are currently fifth in the table, but they have just 22 points from 16 matches. They are 11 points behind second-placed Orlando Pirates, despite having played three games more. And Amakhosi are some 17 points behind leaders Sundowns, though they have played two games more than Masandawana.

“For the second round of the league, we have to take it game by game,” said Nabi after the Usuthu draw.

“We have to put in our best performance in each and every match trying to get the three points. If we can win without conceding goals it will be ideal. But the most important thing is to build a very competitive team that is going to be consistent in performance and results.”

Chiefs’ defence has leaked goals all season – they have conceded as many (19) as they have scored in the league. Only Marumo Gallants (25) and AmaZulu (22) have let in more.

Amakhosi looked to have found some stability as they picked up three clean sheets in five matches in all competitions, and then only lost the Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates to a last minute penalty. But against AmaZulu, they were far too easily dissected.

Stellenbosch are two points behind Chiefs in the table, but have three games in hand, courtesy of their Caf Confederation Cup campaign.

Steve Barker’s side have continued to lose key players, including striker Iqraam Rayners joining Sundowns at the beginning of this season and Jayden Adams following Rayners to Choorklop in January.

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Stellies have perhaps battled to balance their domestic and continental campaigns, with just five Premiership wins in 13 matches so far.

Dangerous Stellies

But they remain a very dangerous team, a evidenced in their December win at Orlando Pirates and in a recent 5-0 hammering of AmaZulu.

Chiefs did beat Stellenbosch 2-1 at home almost exactly a month ago. But there was little to choose between the two sides and this promises to be another close encounter.