After MTN8 exit, Arthur Zwane feels the pressure at Kaizer Chiefs is unlike everywhere else.
AmaZulu held on for a 0-0 tie to add to their 1-1 away draw at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday, knocking Kaizer Chiefs out of the MTN8 semi-finals on away goals.
Amakhosi fans flocked to the historic former World Cup stadium in near-capacity expectation of Chiefs reaching their first MTN8 final since the 2015-16 season.
The deafening clamour, however, was in vain as Chiefs failed to hit the back of the goal, resulting in a painful elimination at the hands of AmaZulu.
Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane, who has been under fire in recent weeks, pondered on his team’s elimination from a league in which they had previously excelled.
As AmaZulu showed their expertise and saw out the match, the 49-year-old applauded his players while emphasising the significance of his relatively inexperienced squad learning from this year’s experience in preparing for the future.
“We knew coming into this game that they would try their best to slow the game down, get fouls and at some point we played into their hands with that, we allowed them to do that especially in the first half,” Zwane said.
“We know that we could have done better, we had quite a few half chances here and there but we couldn’t capitalise and that was the story of the first stanza.
“In the second half it was quite the same, we had a few promising moments and box entries into their final third but our composure inside the box let us down and so it wasn’t meant to be we learn from this experience and move onto the next game.”
The Chiefs will need to pick themselves up swiftly and be ready for their crucial league matchup against the Orlando Pirates the following week.
