Kaizer Chiefs legend hits out at 'truck drivers' after Sowetan giants crash out of CAF Confederation Cup with defeat to Zamalek

Kaizer Chiefs' hopes of making the CAF Confederation Cup quarter-final were ended on Saturday night following their 2-1 loss against Zamalek SC.

The first 45 minutes ended goalless, but that changed just eight minutes after the restart as Nasser Mansy fed Juan Alvina in the prime zone, and the Brazilian made no mistake.

It was 2-0 in the 72nd minute when Mohamed Shehata picked the unmarked veteran Abdallah El-Said, whose shot left Brandon Petersen glued to his spot.

Despite Glody Lilepo heading in Lebohang Maboe's corner with 15 minutes to go, the White Knight held on to get a win that ensured they finished top of Group D, as Al Masry, who beat ZESCO United 2-0, advanced as well, thanks to their superior goal difference.

The loss sees Chiefs exiting a third successive cup competition in the early rounds after Carling Knockout and Nedbank Cup heartbreak, this leaves their only possible road to a trophy being the league itself.

It was a result and a circumstance that left club legend Brian Baloyi fuming.

“You know, for a while, this Chiefs team was able to stomach the pressure and go on and, you know, win the 1-nil, 1-nil,” Brian Baloyi told the Soccer Beat podcast.

“But at the end of the day... it’s going to be an opportunity missed.”

“Kaizer Chiefs is a code 14, a big truck, and you can’t take a code 14 truck and give a driver who has a code 8 to drive such a big truck,” the former Bafana star said.

The 51-year old expanded on his trucking analogy to apparently aim a dig at the current co-coaches Khalil Ben Youssef and Cedric Kaze.

“As a driver, you know, you can watch a truck driver doing what he does, you can also take the truck and move it, but you can’t drive it all the way from Durban to Cape Town," he said.

"It’s impossible. And this is what’s happening.”

In his post-match interview, as reported by The Star,  Chiefs co-coach Cedric Kaze laid the blame for their exit from the continental campaign on the players' mindset.

“We believe that today we didn’t enter the game with the right attitude and mentality,” Kaze said. 

“We respected the opponent too much, giving them time and space to play, especially in the first half.

“We were behind the ball a lot, and that took a toll physically on the players. The first goal we conceded came from a loose ball, and the second was avoidable. We’ll learn from this and move on.

“First of all, I would like to say that it is a huge disappointment for us – we put a lot of time and effort into this competition.

“We tried not to concede those two goals,” he concluded.

Having exited the last cup competition available to them, Chiefs are left with just one trophy to play for - the domestic league title.

Amakhosi currently lie third in the table with 30 points after 15 matches. They are chasing their Soweto rivals, Orlando Pirates, who lead the way on 38 points, having played 16 matches. Sandwiched between the two Soweto clubs are perennial PSL champions Mamelodi Sundowns on 32 points from 15 matches.

Chiefs return to league action is against Stellenbosch, the side that recently knocked them out of the Nedbank Cup, at the FNB Stadium on February 24.

Then all eyes will be on the Soweto Derby slated for February 28, when both sides' title credentials will be put under the microscope.