Zwane Defends Saile Over Crucial Misses

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Arthur Zwane says striker Christian Saile cannot be blamed for his side’s Nedbank Cup exit despite squandering several good chances in defeat to their bitter rivals Orlando Pirates.

Amakhosi lost Saturday’s Soweto Derby 2-1 in injury-time, with Pirates scoring the opener via Kermit Erasmus just a minute after Saile missed a great chance to score.

The 23-year-old was the hero in Chiefs’ 2-0 extra-time win against Maritzburg United in the round of 32 when he broke the deadlock for his side, but somewhat turned into villain on Saturday after missing a few more good opportunities to score.

Saile’s performance was reason enough for some fans at FNB Stadium to jeer him and call for his substitution but Zwane insisted after the match that the forward cannot be made a scapegoat for the defeat.

“We’ll always want to beef up,” he said.

“If you look at the chances that we created today, Saile was in the right place. Ash created the space for him to exploit and he did exploit the space but he just couldn’t find the target, which is something that we can work on.

“It’s better than having a player on the field who doesn’t understand what you expect from him. He was in the right area at the right time, unfortunately he just couldn’t convert.

“We cannot now put the blame on him because of that. That’s the nature of football – you win some and you lose some. Sometimes you take those opportunities, sometimes you don’t take them.

“When you don’t take them you pay the price. That’s why we’re in this situation that we’re knocked out. But I cannot fault the effort and commitment of the players today. They gave their best, they gave their all and I’m proud of them.”

Overall, Saile has scored four goals in 13 appearances since joining the Glamour Boys, who now turn their attention to the DStv Premiership where they will attempt to catch SuperSport United, sitting four points ahead of them.

Chiefs, who’ve now lost three out of their last four games, will travel to Matsatsantsa on 13 May on the penultimate day of the season.