Former Kaizer Chiefs striker puts club's lack of goals on midfielders not playing to forwards' strengths - 'You're going to make the forward look poor'

Kaizer Chiefs have kicked off 2026 on a high note after claiming two Premier Soccer League wins and a CAF Confederation Cup victory. 

Those results have lifted Amakhosi to second place on the PSL standings, firmly placing them as genuine contenders for the league title. 

The positive run has also breathed new life into their continental campaign, with renewed belief of progressing to the knockout stages. 

However, the three straight wins have not been entirely convincing, as all have been narrow 1-0 scorelines. 

Striker Glody Lilepo is the only forward to have found the net, while defender Aden McCarthy and midfielder Pule Mmodi have also chipped in with goals. 

Former Chiefs forward Kenny Niemach has since pointed to what he feels is the key factor holding the team back in their quest for more goals.

“What is happening at Chiefs now result wise usually happens when everybody is starting to settle down,” Niemach told KickOff.

“The squad has been given time to gel, and that's why they are getting the results. Now there's more stability.    

“They are finding combinations, and there's stability. They now know the Chiefs players who are going to play next to them weekly. That's why they are winning at the moment.   

"Even though they are winning with one solitary goal they are still not scoring freely as they should be scoring, but they are winning as they make sure they don't concede at the back," added Niemach who also played for Sundowns.    

“Their problem upfront is not much about the strikers. You've got to look at the speed of the transition. That takes training, and it takes time. The people who are in the midfield must work according to the strength of the strikers.   

“They are not doing that at the moment. The Chiefs strikers are not scoring because the midfielders and wingers don't give the strikers the ball according to their strengths.   

"Give a striker the ball according to what he is good at. Otherwise, you're going make him look poor. So all it needs is a slight adjustment, but that should come from the coaching staff at Chiefs,” he concluded.

After Chiefs coach Khalil Ben Youssef blamed the Levy Mwanawasa pitch for restricting them to a 1-0 win over ZESCO United in the Confederation Cup last weekend, the same problem has come to affect them.

Co-coach Cedric Kaze had issues with the turf at Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium when they edged Marumo Gallants on Wednesday, although he described their victory as "a big win."

"It's a big win on a very difficult field ,but we didn't want to complain about the field or to feel sorry for ourselves, we are a big team, we need to play in every condition that we find ourselves in,” Kaze said as per SABC Sports.

“I would say that it's a big win, and what I would say today, I'm not quite sure that there are a lot of teams that would win on that field."

He went on to praise the improvement the Phefeni team has shown so far this season.

"We went game by game last season. At the end of the season, we were at 32 points after 30 games, today we are 15 games with 30 points, I feel it's a big improvement but as well we feel that we still have a big room for improvement," he continued

After scoring a sensational goal against Gallants, Lilepo was stretched off the pitch and is now an injury concern ahead of Chiefs hosting ZESCO on Sunday.

“We’re happy with the three points and what a goal [from Lilepo], what a goal, it’s not a goal that you see every day,” Kaze added, according to iDiski Times.

“I’m happy for Lilepo that he scored that goal because after his injury against AS Simba, he was slowly coming back, and there was some pressure on him in recent weeks, but he responded well.

“We know he’s a big player that can make a difference.”