Kaizer Chiefs caretaker coach Khalid Ben Youssef said halftime changes made the difference as the club won a third successive Betway Premiership match by beating Richards Bay 1-0 at Soccer City on Tuesday.
Chiefs moved to nine points in the standings and share top spot with Sekhukhune United, who also won on Tuesday.
AmaKhosi laboured through the first half but had near-total control after the break and saw substitute Gaston Sirino grab the 59th-minute winner with a stunning curling finish.
“We expected before the game and we discussed how to play against a team using the low block for the first half, but we weren't good. The rotation was so slow. We found a lot of difficulty in the middle,” said Ben Youssef, standing in for Nasreddine Nabi.
“In the halftime, we decided to take some risks and remove Ox (Sibongiseni Mthethwa) and (Siphesihle) Ndlovu and we tried to put more technique inside and play with more character.”
Sirino came on along with Nkosingiphile Ngcobo. “I think from the beginning of the second half, we took control of the game. I was happy for the first 15 minutes, but after we scored the first goal, you must always kill off the game, to finish the game off, by scoring the second goal.”
Ben Youssef was also not pleased with the showboating by teenage substitute Mfundo Vilakazi near the end of the encounter.
“Our players started to enjoy themselves with the fans. I can understand that, but we talked about that in the change room now. You must always be serious about finishing the game.”
Richards Bay had been a tough opponent, Ben Youssef added.
“Maybe they decided not to play this game, only to defend. So they didn't give us a lot of opportunity, a lot of space, but I think in the last 15 minutes, we got two or three opportunities to score the second goal, but we were unlucky not to score this goal.
“The most important thing is we won, and we kept a clean sheet; we didn't concede.
“So we are so happy about our defensive organisation. I think there is a big difference between this season and last season, and that's the most important for us. But there are still a lot of things to do, a lot of work now with the new players also,” he said.