Kaizer Chiefs have analysed their mistakes made in their 3-1 league defeat against Bidvest Wits and will aim for a far more positive approach when they take on Free State Stars in Saturday’s MTN8 quarterfinal‚ says Amakhosi coach Giovanni Solinas.
Apart from this matchup at FNB Stadium being new Chiefs coach Solinas’s first meeting against the team who introduced him to the Premier Soccer League‚ Amakhosi have suffered a few costly cup defeats against Stars recently‚ which adds to the intrigue.Solinas’s limited three weeks in charge of Amakhosi’s pre-season after a late arrival appeared to have an effect on the team as Chiefs produced a mistake-ridden 90 minutes, losing against Wits at FNB on Wednesday in the Italian’s second match in charge.
It followed an encouraging 1-1 away draw against Mamelodi Sundowns.
“We analysed the defeat against Wits. And yes‚ we made mistakes because we conceded three goals‚” the coach said.“But if I analyse the start of the game‚ we had 75% possession.
“So what does this mean? That we dominated the game [at that stage]. But we never converted the big possession into chances or goals.
“So we need to play more forward. We need to play more around the opponents’ box. We also need to improve in our finish‚ because also against Wits we created chances but did not convert them.”
Stars have harassed Chiefs out of two cup competitions in two years.
Notably‚ Luc Eymael’s combination overwhelmed Chiefs 2-0 in their Nedbank Cup semifinal at Moses Mabhida Stadium in April‚ resulting in a violent pitch invasion from Amakhosi’s angry supporters and Steve Komphela’s exit as head coach.
Stars went on to beat Maritzburg United in the final for their first trophy since 1994.
The previous season Solinas was the architect as Stars beat Chiefs on penalties in the Telkom Knockout quarterfinals‚ also at Moses Mabhida.
“I have a good memory of them because Free State Stars are part of my life. I am grateful to the team‚ to the Mokoena family [who own Stars]‚ for the big opportunity they gave me. I have not forgotten this.
“So it’s a special game for me. Unfortunately it’s a tough game. Because Free State Stars for me are a tough team; strong physically‚ fighting‚ good players,” said Solinas.
Solinas has walked into a tough situation at Chiefs‚ who went three seasons without a trophy under Komphela and are expectant of silverware...