Kaizer Chiefs' heavy defeat to Tanzanian giants Young Africans revealed that there are still some key areas Amakhosi need to work on ahead of the new season. Soccer Laduma takes a look at five key lessons taken from the Toyota Cup clash.
The Soweto giants were handed a 4-0 drubbing by Yanga in a sold out Free State Stadium, as new coach Nasreddine Nabi sat on the bench for the first time on South African soil as Amakhosi coach. Here are five lessons taken from the game.
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Still a long way to go
There has been a lot of excitement over the arrival of Nasreddine Nabi, but the drubbing gave a clear indication that there is still a lot of work to be done by the coach to get Amakhosi on the right track. Fortunately for him, he will have the whole of August to get down to business and get his team firing by the time the new campaign starts. Nabi worked with the team for a couple of weeks in Turkey, but will have an opportunity to adapt to life in South Africa before the Betway Premiership kicks off in September.
Firepower is needed
Amakhosi struggled upfront last season, with a poor record of 25 goals in 30 matches. While they enjoyed most of the possession against Yanga, they hardly threatened the opposition goalkeeper and this will definitely be a concern for the new head coach. Ranga Chivaviro was no threat against the Tanzanians and he did not do much in terms of scoring goals last season, so the club may need to go into the market to bolster the striking department.
Mbuthu's chance to learn
With injuries at left back to Bongani Sam and Edmilson Dove, as well as a personal matter to deal with for Happy Mashiane, Amakhosi played DDC graduate Nkosana Mbuthu at left back. He showed signs of being a good player for the first team, but it was his error that led to Yanga's second goal, as he gave away the ball in a crucial area of the pitch. There is, however, probably no better way for a youngster to learn. It's the type of experience that can spur him on to work on his game and improve, especially if he gets the right type of guidance from senior players and the technical team.
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Open up the chequebook
The transfer window is still open and there are still some areas where the club should look at bolstering, to ensure they have enough depth to get through the entire season and possibly even challenge for honours. They've signed two players in Fiacre Ntwari and Rushwin Dortley, but more is needed to make the squad competitive.
They don't deal with the counter well
Amakhosi were caught out at the back and they seemed to struggle with the pace of Yanga, especially when they lost possession and were victims of the counter attack.
