Cape Town - Although Arthur Zwane enjoyed the distinction of being the first coach to guide Kaizer Chiefs to the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals in four seasons, he wants to forget Sunday's triumphant clash against Casric Stars at the FNB Stadium.
Chiefs last reached the Nedbank Cup quarters in the 2019 competition and were eliminated by Highlands Park who won the eventual penalty shoot-out.
After the match, which Chiefs dominated without managing to impose themselves decisively, Zwane said Chiefs dropped their playing standards.
“This is one game to forget in terms of our standard," said Zwane. "I think we went down to their level. I take nothing away from them. They are a good team. They have their strengths and weaknesses.
“If you watched the game, you will see that it is always difficult to play against teams coming from the first division. They play with energy more than structure.
“I think we know that we could have done better in terms of structure. We always want to play to our utmost best, to have an identity of how we play.
“I know we could have done better but days like these are there in football. You always find players in that situation for some reason.
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“As coaches, we don’t give up on trying to get the best out of the players and the club going forward. What was important for us was to go through to the next round.”
Chiefs will now join seven other clubs in the quarter-final round. The clubs are Mamelodi Sundowns, Sekhukhune United, Orlando Pirates, Royal AM, Chippa United, Stellenbosch and Dondol Stars. The quarter-final draw will take place in Johannesburg on Monday evening.
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Zwane said Chiefs made heavy weather of winning the match. Despite less possession, Casric Stars had as many shots on goal (14) as Chiefs.
"We nearly made it difficult for ourselves," said Zwane. "It should have been an easy game if we applied ourselves correctly. We started off very well, we put them under early pressure and we forced a penalty."
IOL Sport