Kaizer Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp admits his side had a ‘very crappy’ first half, but praised their mentality and competitive attitude as they came from behind to beat Highlands Park 3-2 in their Absa Premiership opener.
The Glamour Boys were fired into an early lead through Lebogang Manyama who got on the end of a Samir Nurkovic cross before heading home.
Highlands struck back and goals from Rodney Ramagalela and Peter Shalulile fired the Lions of the North ahead.
Chiefs, though, fought back as a second goal by Manyama and a late winner by Eric Mathoho handed them all three points in their season opener at the Makhulong Stadium on Sunday.
Eric Mathoho’s late strike against Highlands Park ensured a winning start for @KaizerChiefs in their opening #AbsaPrem encounter pic.twitter.com/l8RYZjTZje
— SuperSport (@SuperSportTV) August 4, 2019
Speaking post-game, Middendorp admitted his team dropped off for a period in the first half but lauded the attitude they showed to turn things around and claim the victory.
‘We had a very good start,’ said the German coach.
‘Deserved our 1-0 lead. It’s difficult to explain. Probably with a number of new players we were a little bit unprepared. I think we have seen 35 minutes in the first half where we were very crappy. The opponent fully deserved to make it 1-1.
‘But we sent some really clear messages to the players at half time. There’s no doubt it that in the end it was a fully deserved win for Kaizer Chiefs. We had the right mentality and the right competitive attitude.
15:
Chiefs have won more games on the opening day of the season in the PSL Era since the formation of the league in 1996-97, more than any other team (15 wins).#Amakhosi4Life pic.twitter.com/VDAY86j69G
— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs) August 4, 2019
‘In the first half, the players were bumping into each other and there was no communication in our movement. On the other side, it is totally normal at this stage. If you take Eric, Lebogang, Reeve [Frosler], Samir [Nurkovic], they didn’t play last season, so it was an outstanding performance. Players who were not really involved with Kaizer Chiefs but played well.
‘It’s not a one-man show. If we can get expertise into the club, we need more expertise. We can’t rely on 11 or 12 players. We have seen the change. Willard did a good job but then in this moment more ball-playing. George Maluleka, Dumisani Zuma, very clever from what I have seen in training.
‘It is not about one person. We need them all in the right moment. And we have a lot of players that will improve and we haven’t even used Leonardo, we haven’t used Khama,’ concluded Middendorp.
