Zwane lays blame on Chiefs players for Swallows loss

Kaizer Chiefs players have to take the blame for the DStv Premiership loss to Swallows FC, coach Arthur Zwane has said. 

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The loss hugely dented Chiefs’ hopes of a second spot finish and Caf Champions League participation next season. 

Swallows beat their Soweto neighbours 2-1 at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Monday afternoon. 

Chiefs didn’t look like the same side who fought and got a win at Chippa United just four days earlier as they struggled to get any rhythm going.

It was, perhaps, because at the back of the players’ minds was the upcoming Soweto derby which they would want to win. 

Chiefs host Orlando Pirates at FNB Stadium in a Nedbank Cup semifinal match on Saturday afternoon.

Should Chiefs manage to get into the final, it would increase their chances of ending a long-running trophy drought.

Zwane admitted that his team didn’t show up for the Swallows game and were lucky not to have conceded more than the two goals.

“When you look at the first and second half, it tells you about taking some games lightly,” Zwane said after the Swallows game. 

“We started slow, and conceded early because of sloppy defending – we paid the price.”

“We then got a goal from a set-play, but still we were not moving enough. We were not mobile enough in terms of creating space for others to exploit.” 

Zwane said his team’s approach to the game was rather rigid and they never looked like they could get anything out of the game. 

Chiefs were rigid and uninspired

“We were waiting for the ball to come to us, and since they formed a block, we were always going to find it difficult to penetrate the block.

“Then we conceded from a dead ball situation, actually, we were lucky not to concede twice more from those set-plays.

“The second half was only one team playing, but we paid the price for taking this game lightly or taking it for granted from the first half.” 

Zwane had called on his players to forget the Soweto derby for just the 90 minutes and focus on the Swallows game. 

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The loss left Chiefs five points behind Pirates in the race for second spot with two games to the end. 

Pirates could kill off Chiefs’ Champions League hopes entirely if they beat Royal AM  at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.  SuperSport United, meanwhile, will also all-but end Chiefs’ hopes if they beat Stellenbosch at home on Tuesday evening.