Chiefs must keep fighting to secure third spot

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Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Khalil Ben Youssef has urged his troops to keep fighting, emphasising that maintaining their winning streak is crucial if they want to lock in a Betway Premiership top-three finish.

Amakhosi notched up their third consecutive victory on Monday, overpowering Orbit College 3-1 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Wandile Duba, Mduduzi Shabalala, and Siphesihle Ndlovu’s goals pushed Orbit further into the relegation zone and kept them in 15th place on the log.

The only goal scored by the Mswenko Boys came through Thabanga Mahlangu.

Chiefs are now third on the log with 39 points from 21 matches.

“We are fighting for the best position we can do. If we can fight for the first or second position, we’ll fight, but I think finishing in the top three is the minimum we can do this season,” Youssef said.

“I have been telling the players that every win brings another win for us.

“So, we have to keep this good momentum to continue to fight and to stay in this good vibe and energy.”

Reflecting on their win against Orbit, the coach said, “We expected that it was going to be a difficult game.

“Always, when we compete against a team that is fighting to stay in the league, it’s a tough game.

“Also, I think that we did not start well in the first 30 minutes, which resulted in us conceding the first goal, but I think it was a positive win from the players.

“We had a good reaction in the last 15 minutes of the first half and in the second half. We played our modern game, we put in our quality, and we played faster.

“We created a lot of opportunities in the second half; I am so proud of the players’ performance in the second half and the last minutes of the first half.

“Now, for the future, we have to continue to work, and we have to think about the next game.

“We are taking each game like a cup game.

Chiefs play TS Galaxy next, a game that coach Youssef believes will be another tough one.

However, he is confident that if his players perform as they did against Orbit in the second half, they will win against Galaxy.

Meanwhile, Orbit coach Pogiso Makhoye said it was very frustrating to take the lead and end the game with zero points.

“We had a very good game plan, especially in the first 30 minutes. I think we were in control, and after we took the lead, we dropped our performance a little bit.

“We defended too deep, and we conceded soft goals. In the second half, we played into their hands; we played too many long balls.

“We gave them cheap goals, and that is very frustrating because where we are, we need to fight for every point.”