Kaizer Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp praised the importance of of having experienced players such as Ramahlwe Mphahlele, Willard Katsande and Bernard Parker in the squad.

The Glamour Boys advanced to the Nedbank Cup semi-final after claiming a 2-0 victory over Cape Town City at the Mbombela Stadium on Sunday through goals from Hendrick Ekstein and Dumisani Zuma.

Amakhosi have now been drawn against Chippa United, who defeated Bidvest Wits in a penalty shoot-out in extra time after the game finished 4-4.

Middendorp insists that he was looking for a balance within his squad to avoid using too many experienced players in his starting lineup.

‘It’s a little bit of a process that we’re in, fortunately I’ve been in this business for so long that I think about things and research a lot, trying to find what will work,’ Middendorp told SuperSport TV after the game.

‘We need experience, we need Rama [Ramahlwe Mphahlele], [Willard] Katsande, [Bernard] Parker, but too much experience and you want to do it with history and ownerships? That doesn’t work. You become an automatic pilot and everybody knows what’s coming next.

‘It’s inspiring for everyone, Willard [Katsande], Rama, for the players who realise, ”I must work, I must do a little bit more”. That’s a process. I’m 100% convinced that without Katsande, Parker and other guys it doesn’t work, but the other guys like ”Dax” [Andrianamirado Andrianarimanana], [Dumisani] Zuma, goalkeeper [Bruce Bvuma] in net, they add value.’