Naturally disappointed that they didn’t have the nerve to prevail in a penalty shootout, coach Stuart Baxter nevertheless feels there were many positive and encouraging signs from his Kaizer Chiefs squad in Sunday’s MTN8 quarterfinal loss to Mamelodi Sundowns.

“It is a strong group of players In as much that we were 2-0 down to the champions in a game where it would have been very easy to cave in and very easy for the players to lose whatever belief they had. But we got back to 2-2 and it could have gone either way. It was our first game against opposition in the sharpest of circumstances. I’ve learnt a lot from the game, and I hope the players have learnt a lot too. We’ve got to get better and we will get better. And if we do get better, if the players can give me 20% more than that, we will be a team to be reckoned with,” Baxter said after the game.

Having been outplayed in the early stages and going down 2-0, Amakhosi showed great courage and determination to claw the game back to 2-2 and after a strong second half, came very close to snatching a late 90^th minute winner through Phathutshedzo Nange.

At the beginning of the game, Baxter says Chiefs “were way off it”, understandable given the number of new faces in the squad.

The Chiefs coach felt the timing of the Chiefs press and the team’s positional play was not what it should be and going down 2-0 gave the team a mountain a climb.

Getting back a goal before the break and then gaining the ascendancy in the game, however, gave Baxter great encouragement.

“I thought going into half time if we could change a few things we could make a fist out of it. And the boys did, they played much better in the second half. The balance of the team was better, and we defended a bit stronger. And on the back of that, our attacking play and transitions were sharper. Even our longer attacks, like the one where we had Nange’s bender, which saw the Sundowns keeper make a magnificent save to keep them in it. I was pleased with that,” says Baxter.

In extra time fatigue was always going to be a factor and in the penalty shootout “Sundowns held their nerve better than we did”.

Amakhosi now turn their attention to the opening round of DStv Premiership fixtures, when Chiefs travel to the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit to meet TS Galaxy in their league opener this Sunday, with the game kicking off at 17h00.