Kaizer Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp said it was “unbelievable” that they had lost 1-0 to Cape Town City after dominating the game throughout at the FNB Stadium on Wednesday night.
And he said that the blunder by goalkeeper Virgil Vries that led to the decisive goal by Edmilson Dove in the 79th minute was “definitely not acceptable”.
Vries came out to claim a City free kick, but without any pressure from an opposition player, he lost the ball towards the net, and Dove managed to get a slight touch to it that took it over the line.
Vries desperately scrambled back to try and stop the ball from going in, but he was too late, and ended up crashing into the netting.
That was a sucker-punch for the Amakhosi, who also hit the post and missed numerous chances to score themselves.
The result saw Benni McCarthy’s City move up to fourth on the Premiership log with 30 points after 18 matches, with Chiefs fifth on 27 from 19 games.
And as much as Vries was to blame for the City goal, so too did Middendorp express his unhappiness with the likes of Khama Billiat, Bernard Parker, Leonardo Castro and Siphelele Ntshangase.
“To get a goal conceded like this is definitely not acceptable,” Middendorp told SuperSport after the match.
“We’ve had it now several times. We had it against Sundowns, and it’s unbelievable to lose this game. It’s really something where you need these seven, eight, nine, 10 days, and now in front of a (Soweto) Derby (against Orlando Pirates on February 9), you need to work it out.
“At the back, we have this goalkeeping issue, but on the other side, we have not scored and used the opportunities in the front. In the end, we lost as a team.”
There have been reports that Chiefs are lining up Chippa United goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi on transfer deadline day on Thursday as a replacement for Vries, considering the fact that the injured Itumeleng Khune is out for the season.
But perhaps doing some business in the striker department may also be necessary.
“That’s absolutely disappointing. It’s absolutely unnecessary to stand here in the end of the day with zero points – even one point would’ve been something,” Middendorp added.
Full time: Kaizer Chiefs 0 : 1 Cape Town City (Edmilson Dove 79’) #HailTheChief #Amakhosi4Life #AbsaPrem pic.twitter.com/ral6ThjPWX
— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs) January 30, 2019
“It’s not mirroring the game that we saw. I can’t really find the right words for this result.
“I don’t know how many possibilities there were to have a clear lead. Even second half, if we could’ve done it in a certain moment in the right way, the right ambition…
“To lose a game like this, again with an action (Vries mistake) in the end of the day, it’s just not comfortable, it’s quite disappointing. I can only repeat that.
“It’s just that we had opportunities, we very clearly had them on the back foot. Strategically, we were definitely the much better prepared side.
“But in the end, you can prepare, organise, have the correct strategy – but it has to be implemented and executed by all the players.”
@ashfakmohamed