Victory for Kaizer Chiefs over Stellenbosch on Wednesday night was important but not yet a major turning point, warned coach Molefi Ntseki.
Chiefs, who made a poor start to the DStv Premiership season, won for a second successive game as they beat Stellenbosch 2-0 away at the Athlone Stadium, with Pule Mmodi scoring a cracking long-range goal and Christian Sallie adding a second late in the game. It moved Chiefs up to the fifth in the standings.
“I think it was a very important win. Coming into this game after we played AmaZulu, the turnaround period was very short,” said Ntseki.
“But I think we kept our players focused coming into this game. The quickness and the speed from Stellenbosch, whenever they were in possession, we had to deal with and I think the players, the team did very well to keep the structure.
“And I think we need to congratulate (goalkeeper) Brandon Petersen for the good work, the good shift that he put in. He kept us in the game. And the offensive players also are credited for taking their chances and scoring goals. So we are happy that we scored the goals and did not concede.”
The Chiefs coach, however, cautioned that this did not signal a change in fortunes for the giant club, who have an MTN8 semifinal first leg tie against Mamelodi Sundowns at Soccer City on Saturday as they look to end an eight season trophy drought.
“I think it's a long way to go, because you're talking of a marathon. And we’ve just played a few games. But in a few games, there are those baby steps that we are taking in terms of technical understanding. If you look at our back four, we have two new players and if you look at the midfield, there is an understanding that is developing between Yusuf Maart and (Edson) Castillo and then you go upfront, there is more of understanding in terms of the selection of passes, the type of passes, the type of runs whenever we are in possession,” he added.
As for the Sundowns challenge, Ntseki said: “Yeah, now we are going into the first leg, which will be very tough one, because it's a cup tie. But I think when you look back in terms of how we have been performing, the team is ready.
“It is just for us to do a proper analysis and look into our strengths. And our strengths, in this case, have to come out on Saturday. I think we are looking forward to it.
“Unfortunately, we don't have any recovery days. We have only one training session before we play Sundowns. But that’s how things are. What is important is for us to be mentally very strong and also to give that belief and confidence to the players that despite whatever, this is one game where we have to do well.”
