“I thought that we would probably win this match and I selected a team that could do this,” Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter reflects about the 2-1 loss against Black Leopards in the Nedbank Cup 16 on Saturday. “However they played at 110 percent and we at 75. If that happens, it’s difficult to win.”

The coach was visibly upset about the way the Amakhosi got kicked-out of the Nedbank Cup in front of the home crowd.

“Cup tournaments are like this,” he lamented. “We struggled to focus, keep shape and so on. A Cup game is a great leveller. This wasn’t about tactics, but about a team that really stuck together and won.”

Baxter started with quite a different team than usual with players like David Zulu, Simphiwe Mtsweni, Reyaad Pieterse and Ovidy Karuru all starting.

“The team was virtually put upon us,” reacted Baxter. “We had suspensions, injuries and there were others I didn’t want to risk, like Siphiwe Tshabalala and Bernard Parker - I was afraid that they we would break down if they had to play 90 minutes.”

The Leopards clash was Amakhosi’s third game in seven days.

“However, I still felt that we put out a competitive squad,” Baxter continued. “I hoped that they would be hungry.”

The visitors took the lead in the first half. Chiefs equalised in the second half thanks to Willard Katsande’s header. However, Leopards’ goal was clearly offside, while Amakhosi should have had a penalty in the first half when Mandla Masango was brought down by the goalkeeper. Referee Daniel Bennett had a shocker in the first half.

“Their goal was light-years offside,” commented Baxter. “And then the penalty… I told the referee, ‘didn’t you see that it was a penalty?’, while putting my hands in front of my eyes indicating that he may be needed binoculars. That’s when he sent me off.”

“Eventually, we did equalise. But we lacked the desire to put it to bed. I am embarrassed about the result and I am ashamed about my own performance for getting sent off. I should take responsibility. However, I am not sure what responsibility there will be for the officials. This result is difficult to swallow. In the end, Leopards wanted it most.”