True to form, Cape Town City raised their game against their Soweto hosts Kaizer Chiefs to hold out for a goalless Premiership draw at the FNB Stadium on Wednesday.
Not too long ago, Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro said Cape Town teams “love to run an extra mile” when they face the Soweto teams. This season notably City and Stellenbosch have managed to raise the game against the Soweto giants, and invariably come away with the spoils.
By the time City ran out onto the pitch against Chiefs on Wednesday, they had failed to win a match in eight consecutive games.
The stats for the Chiefs – City game showed that the Mother City visitors were under the whip for most of the way, but City’s low-block tactics saved the day. City defended very deep in their half and that restricted Chiefs’ attacking space.
City coach Muhsin Ertugral said despite their largely defensive role, City had excellent scoring chances.
“I think we had great chances, especially in the first half,” said Ertugral.
“We had Fortune (Makaringe) one-on-one against the goalkeeper (Bruce Bvuma) and then Amadou (Soukouna) one-on-one against the goalkeeper. They were very good chances. Low block, sometimes yes.
“Nothing wrong with a low block against a team that’s very good. It is also sometimes good when teams have (strong) combinations. However, there was a period when we had them completely and in that period our two midfielders got a little bit tired.
“What’s important is how you block the red zones, how you block the golden zone as we call that. I think they did very well in that.
“We had here and there problems because we allowed Chiefs back in our build-up processes because in a low block, the first and second ball didn’t put so much pressure on us but we couldn’t hold on to the first and second balls.
“We had a security organisation pattern on how to get out of the low block. Then we found ourselves under pressure more and more. We didn’t find the way out.
“It looked like they were dangerous here and there, but we always had the counter-attack possibility.”
This stalemate will hurt City’s chances of ending the season in a top eight berth. After 22 Premiership games, City has lost half of their matches and is in 10th position with 23 points.
The outcome also jeopardises Chiefs’ top eight quest after they picked up 29 points in 21 matches. They are in eighth position but their teams with fewer games lurking close by who could pick up the slack and overtake them on the log.
City will host inconsistent Marumo Gallants at Athlone Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
On Sunday, Chiefs will be away to Richards Bay at the King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi. | Independent Media Sport
