Gregg Berhalter hails Puso Dithejane after South African star makes first MLS start in Chicago Fire rout - 'He gave us everything we wanted'

In a night to remember for Puso Dithejane, Chicago Fire coach Gregg Berhalter was quick to single out the former TS Galaxy star for his contribution during the emphatic 5-0 victory.

Speaking after the game, Berhalter was effusive in his praise for the South African's transition to the league.

“I thought he was lively,” Berhalter said via On Tap Sports Net.

“It’s always difficult for a player to make his first start in the league, but I think he gave us everything we wanted.

"Good on defence, lively in one-v-ones, and as he gets more rhythm, he’s going to prove to be a formidable player in the league," the coach added.

"For us, it’s continuing to work with him, but I really like his attitude and his mindset going into that game.”

“In the first half, I thought the ball movement was a little bit too slow,” Berhalter said.

“We weren’t threatening their back line. We didn’t have an occupation in the penalty box when we did get the ball in the box, so it wasn’t great. And the message at halftime was, we need to speed up the play, we need to play behind them; we need to get numbers in the penalty box.

“And I thought the guys did a really good job of executing, staying patient. And then, once we got the first goal, not to sit back, to keep going and pushing, and get more goals. So overall, happy with the performance. I realize it’s not easy for Sporting Kansas City at this time. It was a professional performance from our group.”