‘He is a player we trust and who we know can give us a lot,’ said the Chiefs co-head coach.
Kaizer Chiefs co-head coach Cedric Kaze was delighted their faith in Flavio Da Silva paid off.
The Portuguese striker came off the bench to grab a late winner over Durban City at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday.
Chiefs’ Da Silva pounces
Amakhosi were heading for a fifth consecutive Betway Premiership match with out a win, when Da Silva pounced three minutes from time. Gaston Sirino swung in a cross from the right wing, and Da Silva powered a superb header past Darren Keet.
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It was Da Silva’s third league goal for Chiefs in just four appearances. The win moved Amakhosi just two points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.
“We know that Silva is a (penalty) box striker,” Kaze told SuperSport TV.
“He is always there on crosses or on rebounds. He was injured … and we couldn’t give him more minutes. But he is a player we trust and who we know can give us a lot.”
Kaze admitted that Chiefs were far from their best against City, in a turgid match that was not a great advert for the Premiership. The Chiefs co-head coach said last weekend’s win over AS Simba, that got Chiefs into the Caf Confederation Cup group stages, had taken its toll on the players.
“Saturday was a tough game mentally and physically,” he said.
“Today we were not at our best but the league is a marathon and you need to win when you are not at your best. In other games we have had 70 percent possession and 20 shots .. and we didn’t win. These are the kinds of game where you need the three points.
‘Very important’
“This was a very important win,” he added.
“We are coming from three draws and a loss. It was very important to build on the momentum from the CAF game. We are very happy we got three points today.”