Chiefs tactics worked in DR Congo claims coach

Kaizer Chiefs were forced to play long balls because of the pitch conditions but felt their tactics were spot on, according to co-coach Khalid Ben Youssef as they drew 0-0 away in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday.

Chiefs were up against AS Simba at the TP Mazembe Stadium in Lubumbashi in the first leg of their African Confederation Cup second round tie, chasing a place in the group phase.

“In this kind of pitch, you can’t play,” moaned Ben Youssef, “so we were only playing long ball like them.

“The plan of the game was to manage the first 45 minutes; first we don’t concede, then we know that the opponents will take a lot of risk. They will try to press higher and they will leave us a lot of space. Then we will introduce Mduduzi Shabalala, Ashley du Preez and Wandile Duba to give us the speed up front,” the coach explained.

“In the first half, we got two opportunities to score. We were unlucky. One of them hit the crossbar from Khanyisa Mayo, and the second in the 88th minute, was a good combination between Shabalala, Mfundo Vilakazi and then Shabalala passed to Ashley. He was unlucky, even if it was an empty goal.

“But I think we succeeded in the plan of the game, how we managed the first 45 minutes, and we knew that in the second half we will find a lot of space.”

Chiefs have an advantage now for next week’s second leg at the Dobsonville Stadium but Ben Youssef warned the tie was not done and dusted.

“I think it will be tough for us. It will be difficult, the Simba team is a good team. They showed us a lot of quality today. It’s a physical team, not a tactical or technical team. A lot of physique.

“We’ll have time to analyse again, this game, and prepare our team for the second leg. Our target is to get into the group stage, then to manage game by game, and we try to do our best to make our fans happy.”