Kaizer Chiefs to ditch the pretty stuff in Nedbank Cup tie against Stellenbosch FC as Cedric Kaze slams empty possession as 'not a good way of dying'

Kaizer Chiefs are set to come up against Stellenbosch FC in the Nedbank Cup Round of 32 at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday.

It would be a grudge encounter between the two teams after the Cape Winelands outfit dumped Amakhosi out of the Carling Knockout in October 2025.

Defending champions Chiefs go into Wednesday's match fresh from recording 1-0 wins in all four games they have played in 2026 in the Premier Soccer League and CAF Confederation Cup.

Co-coach Cedric Kaze says they are prioritising getting positive results over playing a beautiful brand of football.

 “I believe that in every club, it’s the results that give you confidence to work on other things,” Kaze said as per Sowetan Live.   

“Sometimes you can be stubborn and say, ‘I want to play this one way’ and ‘this is my way of playing, and I will die with it’. But when you die with ideas that don’t work, maybe that’s not a good way of dying.    

“We’re probably going to sacrifice a little bit of possession to be able to be a team that hurts you when you don’t expect it. 

"Last year against AmaZulu, we had 72% ball possession and 19 shots, of which 12 were on target. And we missed a penalty and ended up getting only one point.  

“The game against Galaxy on December 7, we had more than 60% of possession with more than 15 shots, nine on target, but we ended up with only one point," added the former Burundi coach. 

"Now we saw that we can do without possession, but as you get results, then the players get more confidence to keep the ball and have that possession.  

“It will make things difficult for us because everyone wants to beat the defending champions. But we are Kaizer Chiefs, and we will do everything to defend our trophy.”

Between October 2025 and now, there has been some key changes at Stellenbosch, including coach Steve Barker leaving the club before Gavin Hunt took over. 

The Cape Winelands outfit also lost midfielder Andre de Jong to Orlando Pirates, while the likes of Lehlogonolo Mojela, Turan Manafov, Thato Khiba, Lesiba Nkuand Sanele Barns left.

In came Tshegofatso Mabasa , Kobamelo Kodisang, Mosa Lebusa , Wayde Jooste, Shakeel April, Wonderboy Makhubu and Asekho Tiwani.

Those are huge chances that could make Stellenbosch a whole different team to Amakhosi who never signed any senior team player in January and have their technical team unchanged. 

Having already missed out on the MTN8 this season, Chiefs still have a chance to end the term with three major trophies in their cabinet.

Besides the Nedbank Cup, the Soweto giants still have the PSL and Champions League to play for and they have opportunities to win everything on offer.