Johannesburg - Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter was happy with the concentration shown by his side as they recorded a 1-0 Premiership win over Baroka FC at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday.
The result was the Amakhosi’s first victory of 2022 after they made a slow start to the new year, losing to TS Galaxy in the Nedbank Cup before playing out to a stalemate against Cape Town City in the league.
“We did it the hard way. Every three strikes should result in a goal so we should have been 3-0 up. You have to give the lads credit because they were working very hard and kept their faith in what they were doing,” said Baxter.
“The substitutes came on and had a bit of an impact. We probe well and the movement is good. Right into the finish, Keagan Dolly went through and the keeper makes a save,” said Baxter.
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Despite the game looking headed for a draw before Khama Billiat notched the winner deep into the second half, Chiefs surprisingly opted to delay making any changes. Baxter provided insight into why he opted to utilise this approach.
“The pitch is very sick, very fast and it takes a bit of time to get the pace of the game. We thought we’ll get more attacking players in the playing field because we just need the extra bit of quality on the transition and that extra smart pass to open up their defence. We worked very hard on that attack and it’s fitting that that’s what won the game for us,” said Baxter.
The result moves the Amakhosi up to second place in the standings, usurping Orlando Pirates whom they have two games in hand over.
Chiefs’ next match will be the eagerly anticipated Soweto derby as they are hosted by arch-rivals Pirates at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
Khama Billiat finds the back of the net deep in added time, Amakhosi take all three points and go second ahead of Pirates on the #DStvPrem standings.
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) February 26, 2022
FT: 0-1 pic.twitter.com/5kLvkRAkkH
Baxter believes that the result would have provided his troops with a much needed confidence boost ahead of their game against Pirates.
“The lads should get a pat on the back because traditionally on the game before the derby your mind is already on the derby. I think that the concentration was good and now we can look forward to the preparations to take on Pirates,” he said.
While Chiefs cannot realistically expect to win any silverware this season, they are in contention to finish second in the league this season. A runners-up finish will earn them the right to play in next season’s African Champions League.