‘It is easy to throw rocks at someone who has not done well,’ said the Chiefs co-head coach.
Kaizer Chiefs co-head coach Cedric Kaze has defended Ashley Du Preez after the striker missed an open goal in their Caf Confederation Cup goalless draw with AS Simba in Lubumbashi on Saturday.
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The Amakhosi striker could have grabbed a precious away goal for his side in the final minute in the DR Congo. But now Chiefs will start from scratch in the second leg of their final group stage qualifier at Dobsonville Stadium on Sunday.
“With Ashley, I won’t say it is normal, but it happens in football. He (Du Preez) was devastated after the game, that he missed a chance to seal the game in the last minute,” said Kaze.
“But as coaches, as the club and as his teammates we are here to support him when the bad moments are here.
“It is easy to throw rocks at someone who has not done well. Ashley has helped us a lot in previous games. I remember he scored a last minute goal against Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup semifinal (last season) to help take us to the final, and to the trophy.”
Chiefs have had problems in attack all season – they have only scored more than once in one match in all competitions – and that was the very first match of the campaign at Stellenbosch in the Betway Premiership.
Amakhosi should have new striker Etiosa Ighodaro available for Wednesday’s game against Siwelele FC, as they look to break a run of three Premiership games without a win.
Khanyisa Mayo is also an option for Chiefs, looking to make up for the situation against AmaZulu when he tapped in Pule Mmodi’s goal-bound shot from an offside position.
“We are very positive in how we have played in the last two (Premiership) games,” added Kaze.
‘You need to be strong mentally’
“We had penalties in the two games and missed them both. A player (Mayo) scored when the ball was going in. We should have won those games. We had more than 65 percent possession in both games.
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“Sometimes a player misses a chance and the next day they kill him on social media. It takes a lot of time to build back confidence. But you need to be strong mentally. We are a big club and there is nothing we can do (about the criticism).”