No. Middendorp gave his team the best chance to win.
Last Saturday, the Kaizer Chiefs advanced to the quarter-finals of the Nedbank Cup after being forced into extra-time by Magic FC of SAFA’s 2nd Division. The Chiefs showed no signs of threat anywhere in the 90 minutes, but their breakthrough did come in extra-time when they pushed three goals past the Magic’s goalkeeper.
Magic’s fans were upset, of course–but not just by the outcome. They were riled up about the way the Chiefs went about winning this game. As one fan wrote on Facebook, “You didn’t need to take a team from SAFA’s second division to extra-time to beat them. You could have just beaten them within the full ninety minutes. What’s with the celebrations?”
Another fan commented: “Strong teams are busy winning in the Champions League, meanwhilst, weaker teams are struggling to finish-off teams from lower-ranked divisions.”
Kaizer Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp (center) takes consultation (photo, TimesLIVE)
Had Chiefs coach, Ernst Middendorp, taken that advice seriously–and tweaked his slow approach into an all-attack approach–his defense and inexperienced goalkeeper, Chris Bvuma, would have been exposed.
The truth is that the Chiefs always seem to struggle against lower division teams. And, as a student of the game, Middendorp stuck with tactics to ensure that history didn’t repeat itself.
We know fans will always have something to say–whether you win or lose. In this case, Middendorp did what he felt he needed to do.
Kaiser won–even though some fans believe it lost by the way it played.
