Kaizer Chiefs fullback Ramahlwe Mphahlele says that the team were happy to ‘win ugly’ in their Premiership clash with Cape Town City on Saturday 16 January.
Mphahlele said that Kaizer Chiefs don’t have the luxury of playing attractive football after a slow start to the season has left them with their backs to the wall.
Kaizer Chiefs happy to win ugly
The win moved Kaizer Chiefs up to 8th on the log and was their second win in a row. Their previous triumph was a tight 1-0 win over Amazulu.
Mphahlele was named man of the match in the contest which saw Kaizer Chiefs take a 2-0 lead into half-time having scored twice in the first 20 minutes.
Despite the win, Amakhosi were criticised for attempting to shut up shop very early in the fixture, but Mphahlele says the team could ill-afford to drop points.
“It was a difficult game, we played a very good side, we knew that they are very good on the ball, we had to keep our distances right,” Mphahlele told SuperSport TV.
“We had to defend well and try to catch them on a counter and it worked first 45 minutes but second-half you saw they came, we were defending in our box.
“We knew there was nothing we could do, we had our backs up against the wall, we just just had to defend well. We did and got the three points, which we needed,” he said.
“At this point, to play nice is okay but we’re not in a position to play nice football, let’s get up the ladder and then we can start playing good football.”
Mphahlele praised the mentality of his teammates and said that the camp were coming together under coach Gavin Hunt.
“The mentality has been good, the past two games the guys have been grinding, it is showing. Sometimes you have to grind the result.
“We went to Durban, we grinded the result, we came to Cape Town, the most difficult place to play, we grinded the result and we’re very happy, we just have to keep going.”
Kaizer Chiefs will face struggling Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila on Tuesday in the first of four engagements they will need to honour before the end of the month.
Chiefs have to balance their domestic ambitions with their continental commitments and will take on Wydad Casablanca next month in their first Caf Champions League group stage match.
