Let us, for a moment, put aside the fact that Kaizer Chiefs needed extra time to overcome a ten man Maritzburg United.
In football, such things happen, and it could have been worse.
The game could have gone to penalties and Maritzburg United could have walked away with a famous victory, leaving Amakhosi in more distress, especially their under fire coach, Arthur Zwane.
So, what matters more at this moment, is that Kaizer Chiefs won, and they are through to the last sixteen, with hopes of some silverware this season still alive.
For now, Arthur Zwane can breathe.
But Maritzburg United, in their defeat, highlighted another big Kaizer Chiefs weakness, which makes it so easy to defend against Kaizer Chiefs.
A weakness that took the game to extra time, a weakness that will continue to be their downfall should they not attend to it immediately.
And no, it is not the lack of luck that coach Arthur Zwane has bemoaned game after game, luck, unfortunately has nothing to do with this one.
This weakness has a lot to do with tactics and the type of players that Kaizer Chiefs have.
And that weakness is their total lack of the surprise element in their offensive play.
Opponents do not have to crack their heads thinking about how to defend against Amakhosi.
Everyone knows that Chiefs will go down the channels, and try to get behind your defense, with the speed of their quick wingers being their main weapon.
Once teams mitigate that particular threat, they are done with Amakhosi.
Statistics from yesterday’s encounter can be misleading, like Steve Komphela once said, they are like a bikini, they don’t reveal everything.
Kaizer Chiefs had 61% possession, they completed 602 passes, they managed a whooping 30 attempts on goal, but only seven of those attempts were on target.
Do you see a problem there? All that dominance of the ball, all those attempts on goal, and yet the game had to be decided on extra time?
What could have made a difference for Amakhosi is the element of surprise that comes with having a creative number 10 in the final third, someone who can fashion much better scoring opportunities out of seemingly harmless situations, like one Themba Zwane for an example.
A player who can operate in the pockets of space and manipulate the opposition defensive lines. The successful Kaizer Chiefs sides of the past had such players, players who could produce moments of magic when the going was tough.
Think Doctor Khumalo, think Thabo Mooki, think Jabu Pule-Mahlangu.
Unfortunately the current Chiefs side lack that element in their game. Otherwise they would have beaten Marirzburg United in regulation time.
The closest they have to a creative number 10 is the injured Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, but even he is not doing that well in the role.
While they continue to search for a number six, a goalkeeper, and another center back, let them remember to add a creative number 10 on their shopping list.
He will save Arthur Zwane a lot of ‘we were just unlucky’ moments.
Also Read: Kermit Erasmus, The Return: Is He Worth The Hype So Far?
