Newly appointed Chippa United coach Vladislav Heric got the monkey off his back when his side registered their first win under his tutelage, thanks to a 1-0 revenge win over Free State Stars at a packed Sisa Dukashe stadium in Mdantsane on Saturday.
The win reversed the 2-1 elimination heartache Chippa suffered to the Free State side to bomb out of the Nedbank Cup two weeks ago.
The elimination was Heric’s first game in charge of the Chilli Boys, having replaced Teboho Moloi a few days earlier. But this time the Chilli Boys got sweet revenge from the boot of Abel Mabaso who ensured maximum points a minute after the break.
Just like the last minute loss to Stars, the league clash at the weekend was also a closely competitive affair, which could have easily gone either way.
Heric admitted as much in a post match interview: “The game was very tight and it could have gone either way. But I’m very pleased with the fighting spirit the boys showed today.”
The Serb said he decided to change the strategy by resorting to long balls in the second half to keep the opposition at bay.
“It worked well for a couple of times, but there was stress also for us to be beaten by long balls from those sides, so I had to put in extra defence for those long balls.”
Collecting maximum points boosted Chippa’s quest for a top eight finish.
The three maximum points took their tally to 30, catapulting them into the top eight bracket.
They were in danger of missing out when they went through a lean spell.
“With all due respect, I don’t think we performed badly in our previous game , because if you take a look at the stats we dominated most of the game.
“You could see that we had more chances and more shots on goal, and we had more opportunities through a couple of corners.
“So I don’t think we were inferior previously when we lost, and we never played bad, but we tried to build up from there.”
Heric can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“We did all we could to win this game, and the confidence my players have in me gives me satisfaction as their leader. And I guess there are things that we need to improve on, but we are going to work on those.”
Next target for the rejuvinated Port Elizabeth-based outfit is log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns in two-and-a-half weeks’ time.
Heric is hoping the long break will afford him an opportunity to drill his philosophy onto the players’ mind.
“Sundowns are giants, but they have to prove that in the field of play, and I believe that my players will be ready for that game, and we are going to spend more time together.
“Because I’ve only been here for two weeks now, and in that time you can only do so much. But I’m very happy with the tactical understanding of my players.
“And that actually gives me the courage to work, and it’s my hope that we are going to fight for top eight.”
FS Stars coach, Luc Eymael, blamed the loss on referee Phelelani Ndaba’s inept performance as well as the condition of the pitch.
“I’m not happy about the officiating. I think you have eyes, you saw what happened. But we cannot talk too much, but I do know God is about everybody, so there will be justice one day,” said Eymael.
He compared the playing pitch to those of the lower European leagues.
“It’s not easy to play on a pitch like this, you know. That’s a pitch of level ninth division in Belgium in Europe, but it was a good atmosphere as the stands were full.”
But he also admitted they committed mistakes that cost them the game.
“We made a small mistake and we conceded and we didn’t use a corner, but there was also a clear penalty for us that wasn’t given again.
“If you remember Sundowns, I know maybe we are here and it doesn’t make other people happy.
“But I want to beaten fairly, but for the rest my boys fought until the end and we tried to put everything but unfortunately we didn’t equalise.”