Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi felt his side did not deserve to lose Saturday’s Soweto derby, where a controversial late penalty settled the outcome again in favour of hosts Orlando Pirates.
Njabulo Blom’s tug back on the shoulder of Relebogile Mofokeng saw referee Masixole Bambiso hand Pirates a penalty in stoppage time at the end of the game, which Patrick Maswanganyi converted.
“The match was intense, but we expected that and we also expected that it was going to be a very tactical, tactical game,” said Nabi.
“Finally, our opponent won the game The only thing I can say is to congratulate the winning team, but I firmly believe that it was not a game that deserved to lose.
“The first thing that I told the players after the game in the changing room was to congratulate them, because the plan that we had for the game, they followed it. “Obviously, there was some moments that there was a lack of communication or lack of concentration, which led to some opportunities for the opponent, but we knew that it wasn't going to be easy to play against a team that I would say are practically at the top of the African football.
“But we played with belief, with confidence, with the DNA of a big club like Kaizer Chiefs. It's frustrating to lose in such circumstances, but there is a game in three days. We can't just keep complaining. We need to move on and concentrate for the next game.”
On the penalty awarded to Pirates, Nabi said: “Honestly, for the penalty, I wasn’t in a position to see but all my staff watching on video confirmed it was a soft decision. And nobody appealed for a penalty, the Pirates striker went to take the corner. The referee also gave advantage. But I don't want that to be an excuse because we lost. It's derby. It's bad (to lose), it's not good, but it's a derby with only three points at stake. It's only three points.
“We’ll have another opportunity, another derby this season. But I’m very happy for the progress of my team in five, six months, we are progressing with the project. The mentality has changed if we compare to the last season, but I want to be positive for my players, for the fans, I promise them, Chiefs will come back.”
Chiefs have a busy week ahead with matches against AmaZulu at Soccer City on Tuesday and then away to Stellenbosch on Friday.
“When we have players that are going to come back from injuries, like Ashley (du Preez), like (Wandile) Duba, like (Tashreeq) Morissi, like (Dillon) Solomons, that's going to increase the level of competition in the team, which can only increase the level of performance for each one,” Nabi added.