Kaizer Chiefs coach bemoans fixture congestion after early Nedbank Cup exit | OneFootball

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Chiefs boss on congested fixtures after cup exit

Photo: Cedric Kaze

Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Cedric Kaze has bemoaned the fixture congestion following his team's premature Nedbank Cup elimination at the hands of Stellenbosch FC on Wednesday.

The Soweto giants fell to a 2-1 defeat, courtesy of first-half goals from Ibraheem Jabaar and Devin Titus, while Flavio Da Silva scored a consolation for Amakhosi in the Mother City.

As a result, Chiefs became the first Nedbank Cup defending champions to be eliminated in the first round of the competition since TS Galaxy in 2020.

Reflecting on the exit, Kaze suggested his players switched on late into the game as Stellies had their two-goal cushion in the opening 22 minutes, and he attributes that to congested fixtures.

“I don't want to find any excuse for the defeat. I'm so proud of the players, they did everything can. But in our situation it's very tough to play every three days with the trips that we are doing and sometimes the players take time to get into the game,” he said.

"Even before the game we emphasized that we need to get straight into the game but there is no excuse and we have to bare with that and keep going forward.

With the highly-anticipated sold-out clash having been delayed by 30 minutes due to supporters still making way into the DHL Stadium, the Burundian highlighted the impact of prolonged kickoffs.

“It's a question that I would love to find an answer to because those delays are never good for teams - the momentum, the concentration, the focus on the game - you get distracted from that [delays] and as I said I don't want to find any excuse,” Kaze added.

"We are out with all the things that happened today and we just have to keep our heads straight and concentrate on Sunday's game.

Chiefs will now shift focus to their crucial CAF Confederation Cup clash against Egyptian side Al Masry SC at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday.