Zwane on Khune/Kwinika omission: ‘There’s been individual errors’ | The Citizen

Club veteran Itumeleng Khune and defender Zitha Kwinika were notable absentees from Arthur Zwane’s Kaizer Chiefs team on Sunday. 

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Khune, who has been in goal for Chiefs since the return from the Fifa World Cup break, was replaced by Brandon Pieterse. 

Kwinika has been a regular starter for Zwane since the beginning of the season but he was also not there in the game against Royal AM. 

In his place Zwane put his faith in Siyabonga Ngezana. Chiefs went on to beat Thwihli Thwahla 2-0 and end a three game losing streak. 

Chiefs’ goals were scored by defender Sifiso Hlanti with a header from a Keagan Dolly free kick. 

The second was netted by Ashley Du Preez who made up for the earlier chances he had missed.

At the post match media conference, Zwane was asked about the omission of the experienced Khune and Kwinika from his team. 

“When it comes to Itu and Kwinika, we have been playing well. Unfortunately, when you look at the goals we conceded, they were through individual errors,” said the Chiefs head coach.  

“They were not team mistakes and those things happen, but we had to make the changes here and there because we have a big squad.” 

Giving others a chance to show what they can do

Zwane added that he has a big pool of capable players and he felt it was time to give others a chance.

“We have to give the other players the opportunities as well to showcase their talent and they responded positively. 

“But you look at this game, and many other games, the performance is the same, the only difference is the scoreline.

“We managed to take our chances, it is not that they performed badly.”

The win over Royal AM eased the pressure on Zwane. Before the win, Khune had conceded six goals in three matches. 

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Chiefs’ backline have been their Achilles heel and Zwane will hope that Ngezana will continue giving solid performances to stop the rot. 

The other option that Zwane has is Mulomowandau Mathoho, who has all the experience, but has been sidelined by injury. 

Chiefs return to action again on Sunday when they visit TS Galaxy at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit. 

Galaxy will be high in confidence and spirits after their 4-0 win over Golden Arrows last weekend.