Tau explains what Kaizer Chiefs ‘failed to do’ against Cape Town City

Former Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates defender Jimmy Tau voiced several areas of concern after the Glamour Boys’ 2-1 defeat at the hands of Cape Town City at the FNB Stadium on Wednesday evening.

There wasn’t a great deal to separate the two sides in what was a tight game and if a couple of moments had gone a bit differently, Chiefs may have stretched their unbeaten run in all competitions to nine.

But two moments of frailty in defence were ruthlessly punished as the Citizens ended a five-match winless streak against the Soweto giants.

“I think there’s a lot they can improve on,” Tau said after the match in his capacity as a SuperSport TV pundit.

“I’ll touch on one. They have a very loose and not coordinated pressing, that’s number one.

“And secondly, they allowed teams to play within the zones where ideally you don’t want them to play.

“And for a team that is playing at home, and a team of Chiefs’ calibre, you need to be able to press your opponents so that you deny them time and space on the ball, which is what Chiefs failed to do.”

In illustrating his point on Amakhosi’s failure to put pressure on the opposition and to set the tempo of the game, Tau highlighted a specific incident where the hosts did not apply pressure from the front.

“[Samir] Nurkovic indicates for the team to press, but look at how empty he’s pressing, he’s running alone. Look at the number of passes (from Cape Town City).

“Now [Khama] Billiat comes in, but again they let Nurkovic press alone. Again, loose and uncoordinated pressing. Billiat goes in, half-hearted. The aim is not really to win (the ball), [Lebogang] Manyama...they (the Chiefs forwards) were supposed to be upfront, but they still allow the ball to be played to (City keeper) Peter Leeuwenburgh.”

The defeat has left Chiefs in 11th spot on the table although they remain only two points off the top eight. They next play Mamelodi Sundowns in Tshwane on Sunday.