Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi has backed striker Ranga Chivaviro to come good despite some of the fans getting on his back during their 4-0 Carling Knockout Cup win against SuperSport United.
Chivaviro missed a few chances on the night and endured the ire of the fans before he eventually got on the scoresheet in the second half. After the goal in the 73rd minute, he signalled to the crowd with his hands, seemingly saying they must “stop talking” or “stop getting on his case”.
Nabi, however, is backing the striker to deliver the goods and regain the sort of form that saw Chiefs go and buy him from Marumo Gallants a couple of seasons ago.
“My responsibility as a coach is to protect our players,” Nabi said after the win against SuperSport United.
“When they go through difficult moments, we can't have emotional reactions like the fans. That's why we didn't want to substitute him when he missed those chances.
“I told him to remain focused because he is going to score. I was very happy that the trust I and the team have put in him paid off.”
Nabi said they showed the mental fortitude to get over the line against SuperSport, who dominated the early exchanges of the match, but failed to make their dominance count in front of goal.
Chiefs also wanted to win the match for their chairman Kaizer Motaung, who celebrated his 80th birthday during the week leading up to the match.
"I don't think that in the 90 minutes we had a really good performance, because there were sometimes where we allowed our opponents to get on the front foot, get wide balls to play crosses into our box and to get opportunities to score," Nabi said.
"But, like we said before the game – a cup game, you don't play it, you just win it. The commitment and mental fortitude that the players showed was at a very good level because at the beginning of the game, everyone was aware that a few days ago it was our chairman, Kaizer Motaung's birthday.
"Everyone wanted to offer him this victory."
@JohnGoliath82