Kaizer Chiefs dropped two points against Richards Bay FC on Wednesday night after twice conceding from avoidable errors at the Princess Magogo Stadium.
Amakhosi dominated long periods of the match but could not turn their control into three points. Instead, they had to fight back twice to protect their unbeaten start to the Betway Premiership season.
KAIZER CHIEFS PAY THE PRICE FOR COSTLY ERRORS
Nqaba Xulu scored twice for Richards Bay, while Lebohang Maboe and Siphesihle Ndlovu found the net for Amakhosi.
The biggest talking point came in the first half when Brandon Petersen made a costly mistake that gifted Richards Bay their opening goal.
Da Cruz did not hide his frustration after the match. The French coach felt his team played well enough to win but gave their opponents too many opportunities.
“Yes, we conceded that goal but after we continued to play well. We made a good first half, but we made too much gifts to the opponents and we lost too much points,” Da Cruz told SuperSport.
“It’s not normal to concede two goals like that when we play this type of football when we played so well,” he added.
Da Cruz urged his players to remain positive and continue pushing instead of allowing the errors to affect their overall performance.
DA CRUZ PRAISES SQUAD DEPTH
There was at least one major positive for Da Cruz. The coach was pleased with the impact of his substitutes.
Faiz Abrahams and Asanele Velebayi made a strong impact after coming off the bench, showing that Chiefs have options beyond their starting XI.
Da Cruz believes that squad depth will become increasingly important as the season progresses.
“It’s the beginning of the season, our substitute players when they come in, they make a very good job,” he said. “We need to keep this mindset because we don’t need 11 players but we need a complete squad to look forward.”
The message is clear. Kaizer Chiefs cannot rely on their attacking players to rescue them every time they make defensive mistakes.
They will get another opportunity to respond when they face Siwelele FC at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Saturday, 5 September. Kick-off is scheduled for 20:00.
