Mixed fortunes for Chiefs youth teams
Mixed fortunes for Chiefs youth teams

Posted in News, Team News on Sep 19, 2021.

Kaizer Chiefs had five teams in action on Saturday with four age-group teams taking on their counterparts from Jomo Cosmos in the Gauteng Development League at the Rand Stadium in Johannesburg.

Chiefs’ reserve team were also on the road further afield in Kwa Zulu Natal, where they were taking on Lamontville Golden Arrows reserves, a game they lost 3-1 at the Princess Magogo Stadium.

Chiefs u-13 team were prolific and won their game 4-0 against Cosmos, while the Chiefs u-15 team went down 3-2 in a thrilling game.

Both teams were led on Saturday by Jimmy Jambo, who commented on the two games that he ran the touchline in.

“Getting four goals, coming from a 1-1 draw last week for the under 13s was a very good improvement. We have been coming back after a long time and we have had a number of injury setbacks, which has not helped us and our preparations,” Jambo said of the under 13 team.

“With the under fifteen, we had five injuries and had to make a number of changes, not just to the line up but to the formation as well. We scored two goals in the first half and then tiredness set in and we conceded a late goal. We need to work on our defensive structure, better concentration and anticipation,” Jambo said of the under 15’s narrow loss to Cosmos.

For Chiefs u-17 coach, Tshidiso Letsholonyane, the team’s 2-1 win on Saturday at Cosmos was most welcome and a move in the right direction.

“We are showing good progress and we are preparing our squad for next season. We have a lot of this group that will still be here next season. Today our first half was very good, we dominated and created chances,” said Letsholonyane.

The coach’s preparations have been disrupted as most of his players are busy with school exams, but he has targeted the areas of improvement.

“In the second half we dropped the intensity. It is something that we can look at going forward. We need to work on our counter press and we need to talk about our second half performance,” said a frank Letsholonyane.

The final game in the series against Cosmos saw Chiefs u-19 team go down 1-0, with coach Ace Khuse saying after the game: “I think we did our best. Physically they were too strong for us, which saw us lose our shape at times. Our defence was too open at times, and we allowed them too much space. That’s how they scored, it was our own mistake which led to their goal. We will go back and work on how to cover each other and on some other defensive improvements”.

Chiefs reserve team went down 3-1 to Lamontville Golden Arrows in the DStv Diski Challenge in their second game of the campaign.

Coach Vela Khumalo was not happy with the result, coming after last week’s opening game derby success over Orlando Pirates.

“The result is not what we wanted. We started very slowly and played a team who was motivated and who came at us. We were all aware they would come for us and we wanted to keep composure, but they did not really give us time and space. These are lessons for the boys. It will help us to grow. It is not about winning against Pirates and then complacency creeps in,” said Khumalo.

Despite the loss, Khumalo still had some positive take-aways from the game.

“Second half, we were better. We played more like the Chiefs style that we wanted, this is a team that will conquer in the near future,” Khumalo predicted confidently.

The Chiefs reserves will head back home and prepare for their next fixture in the DStv Diski Challenge against Swallows FC on Saturday 25th September at the Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto, while the Chiefs age group teams will host Rosina Sedibane Modiba Sports School on Friday 24 September.


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