Nabi dedicates cup victory to Kaizer Motaung

Coach Nasreddine Nabi was critical of Kaizer Chiefs’ display despite thumping SuperSport United in the first round of the Carling Knockout but revealed they were motivated to win for club chair Kaizer Motaung, who celebrated his 80th birthday earlier last week.

Chiefs outwitted SuperSport 4-0 courtesy of goals from Gaston Sirino, Yusuf Maart, Ranga Chivaviro and Ashley du Preez to reach the quarterfinals at Peter Mokaba Stadium at the weekend.

“I don’t think overall in 90 minutes we had a good performance because there were times where we allowed the opponent to get on the front foot, getting wide balls, crosses and opportunities as well to score. But we said, ‘the cup game … you just have to win it’,” Nabi said via translation by his new assistant, Cedric Kaze. 

“The commitment the players showed was at a good level. Everyone was aware that a few days ago it was Kaizer Motaung’s anniversary and we wanted to offer him this victory ... we wanted this for him because he has sacrificed a lot for this team. We need him to go forward.”

Chiefs could have scored more goals if it wasn’t for Chivaviro missing clear-cut chances. Nabi stressed the importance of protecting players when they go through a rough patch like Chivaviro, who was subjected to whistling by fans after missing the chances.

“Our responsibility as coaches is to protect our players when they go through some difficult moments. We can’t have emotional reactions like the fans and that’s why we didn’t sub him when he missed those chances. I told him to keep focus and he was going to score and he scored and he was happy. The trust we have put in him has paid off,” Nabi said.

The Amakhosi coach also congratulated his goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari for keeping his first clean sheet since his arrival in the off-season. Chiefs and SuperSport clash again, in the league, at the same venue on Saturday (5.30pm).

“We need to congratulate Fiacre [for getting his first clean sheet in a Chiefs shirt]. He made some saves that could have allowed the opponent to get back into the game. It’s the work of the entire team ... all the players who were on the pitch,” Nabi said.