Nabi happy with effects of Fifa break as Chiefs looked stronger beating Bay

Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi believes the recent Fifa break has helped his team to come back stronger for the remaining games this year.

Chiefs beat Richards Bay 2-1 at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday to move from ninth to sixth place in the Betway Premiership, eight points behind log leaders Orlando Pirates.

Nabi made a number of changes in his starting line-up and his team managed to earn the result despite losing right-back Reeve Frosler on a red card early in the second half with the score at 1-0 to Amakhosi from Wandile Duba's 21st-minute opener.

Ashley du Preez added a second in the 68th before Yamela Mbuthuma's late reply for Bay in the 91st.

Nabi said it was the manner in which Chiefs used the Fifa and Carling Knockout final break to prepare the team that helped them register their third league victory in six matches.

“It's true the break has given us the opportunity to improve a lot of things technically and tactically. It has put the morale of our players in the right direction,” Chiefs' coach said.

“It has helped us today [Wednesday] — though the scoreline is not that big, we believe that performance was much better. It has also helped the coach to get his knee healed.”

Nabi had to go for surgery on his knee during the Fifa break and missed some of the friendly matches the club played in Gqeberha.

Though happy with the three points, the coach admitted Chiefs are not yet sharp enough to take enough of the chances they create and admitted this could have allowed Bay to come back into the clash.

“It was understandable that the opponents kept pushing and maybe the energy on our side dropped [late in the second half] because of being a man down. They scored a goal, but we fought hard for the three points and we're happy.

“We could have killed or ended the game much earlier. We had two or three chances to do so. If you don't kill the game you keep the opponents alive and we saw what happened in the end.

“It's true that maybe it's a lack of concentration and maybe overconfidence too, but we feel we need to encourage our players because the most difficult thing in football is to create opportunities. Now we need to figure out how to kill the game.”

Chiefs host Royal AM at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday and Nabi said they will remain in Polokwane to prepare properly for that clash.

“We've decided not to go back to Johannesburg; we've decided to stay here and put ourselves in best condition for the game against Royal. That shows the importance and the seriousness we're giving to each game.”

Nabi was also happy to see the support his club enjoyed in Limpopo and urged Amakhosi fans to keep believing in what the new coaching regime are trying to achieve.

“First, I say thank you to the supporters who came to the game. We know there's been a break in the league and the last results were not very positive.

“But we saw a lot of fans today [Wednesday] and we dedicate those three points to them because they were brave and pushed the team from the beginning. Now you can see the big value of this club that is Kaizer Chiefs.”