Durban — Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter was delighted after his side followed up their frustrating 1-1 draw with AmaZulu by recording a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Moroka Swallows at the Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto on Sunday evening.
ALSO READ: Khama Billiat and Keagan Dolly on fire as Kaizer Chiefs beat Swallows to go second
“It was a difficult game. The pitch was very troublesome and the wind was strong. It made good football difficult but we produced three passages of excellent play which got us three goals.” Baxter said.
“I was upset that we conceded a goal which was a bad mistake as we switched off as a team. All in all, 3-1 in a derby away from home is a good result,” said Baxter.
Chiefs' goals were inspired by the good attacking chemistry between Keagan Dolly and Khama Billiat as the latter scored a brace inbetween Dolly’s strike.
“The front three with Bernard (Parker) included pressed in the first half which led to us getting chances. They found themselves with a bit of space and three goals was the result,” said Baxter.
ALSO READ: Swallows FC fire coach Brandon Truter and entire coaching staff after poor results
A problem that has affected Chiefs for the past two years is a lack of squad depth. Another promising factor that Baxter can take from the game is that the likes of Happy Mashiane, Kearyn Baccus and Ramahlwe Mphahlele who have all not been first-team regulars this season delivered solid shifts.
“In the three games over a short time, the load on the players has been enormous. We had to make a lot of changes and ease the load at the finish by making changes. I thought Baccus was good and Siphosakhe (Ntiya-Ntiya) also came on to play an excellent cameo towards the end,” said Baxter.
The increased squad depth and chemistry in the Chiefs squad now makes player selection a more difficult task for Baxter, something that he feels is a healthy problem.
“It’s a situation where the lads you think are starters have to make sure they are up for it. There is more competition which gives me a good problem,” said Baxter.
Advantage Kaizer Chiefs in Dobsonville ✌
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) November 28, 2021
Keagan Dolly has now scored six goals in the #DStvPrem this season, three less than the leader Peter Shalulile.
📺 Stream live: https://t.co/0BMWdeEYT3 pic.twitter.com/7jdus8vcAr
The win was Chiefs sixth of the season and they have now won three out of their last four league games. The Soweto giants are showing clear signs of tactical maturity as compared to how they played last season.
After Swallows started to throw more men forward in the second half, they managed to successfully defend deeper to ward off the threat.
Amakhosi’s next league assignment is a potentially very tricky home encounter against Cape Town City at the FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
IOL Sport