11 mistakes that cost Kaizer Chiefs against Mamelodi Sundowns

Here are the 11 tactical and technical mistakes that cost Kaizer Chiefs the game against Mamelodi Sundowns on Sunday. (Mamelodi Sundowns 4-1 Kaizer Chiefs - MTN8 quarter-final) 

1. Poor making of set-pieces by Chiefs defence leaked 3 soft goals.

2. Mulomowandau Mathoho and Morgan Gould roles at the back were not clearly defined and well articulated as they all failed to pick up players during set-pieces and were caught off guard most of the time when Chiefs was under siege. The lack of communication between the two towers (Gould and Mathoho) was justified after Sundowns scored the 4th goal.

3. Stuart Baxter committed match suicide by having two defenders with similar style at the back (Mathoho and Gould). Only one player should play not the two at the same time as they all play as central defenders without a sweeper and this double central defenders role have to be revisited going forward.

4. Playing same 3 players in the middle-of-park Reneilwe "Yeye" Letsholonyane, Josta “JD” Dladla and Siyabonga “16 valve” Nkosi limited Chiefs attacking and its ability to play from the wings. There trio are good ball players but lacked blistering pace to trouble Sundowns defence.

5. Bernard Parker dropped too deep to collect balls because of insufficient balls supply upfront.

6. Chiefs build up from the back was too slowly and not effective going forward. The defence was busy kicking long balls upfront.

7. Both left and right wings were ineffective in the first half which lead to insufficient balls supply upfront to Bernard Parker and Lehlohonolo Majoro.

8. The attacking force of Chiefs was non-existed as Parker played too deep leaving Majoro ineffective alone upfront.

9. Nkosi should have been sacrificed in the second half as he was a passenger in the field without any attacking impact.

10. Chiefs free flowing attacking football was not effective throughout the game but introduction of Sthembiso Ngcobo changed the whole complexion of the game. Chiefs started to attack in all angles but it was already too late.

11. The least said about the missed penalty by Dladla and 8 minutes referee optional time the better.

Any tactical blunder observed in the game?

By Owen Mundalamo

Founder: Football Food for Thought