Coach Nabi demands a sense of responsibility from his Kaizer Chiefs troops

Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi has called on everyone within the team to take responsibility for turning their fortunes around in the final stretch of the season.

Chiefs failed to win for the third consecutive game on Wednesday night after being held to a goalless draw in the Betway Premiership by Cape Town City at home.

Amakhosi, who remain eighth in the standings with 29 points, were left frustrated by the result, as they were their own worst enemy in front of goal, despite creating numerous chances. Chiefs should have gone into the break at least 4-0 up, but Mduduzi Shabalala, Gaston Sirino, Dillan Solomons, and Nkosingiphile Ngcobo all squandered their opportunities.

Shabalala was the biggest culprit of the evening, failing to convert a golden opportunity when he found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Darren Keet, only to put his final effort wide.

Chiefs threw everything at Cape Town City in search of a goal and a possible winner in the second half, but Keet and his defense stood firm, ensuring the visitors left with a point. Nabi was visibly frustrated during his post-match press conference, lamenting that his team had let themselves down when it mattered most.

“It’s not dramatic, but it’s very bad because this is not the first time we’ve had a chance to go ahead and win, only to drop points,” Nabi reflected.

“If you look at our shortcomings from the start of the season up until now, the mistakes are still the same. You have a chance to take the lead, but you waste that opportunity. At some point, you need to evaluate why. What is the problem?

“With all due respect to Cape Town City, we should have won the game 3-0 or 4-0. But we needed to score, and we didn’t. It’s my responsibility. I don’t want to attack my players — I need to protect them and help them improve.”

While it is Nabi’s role to prepare his team to be at their best, the Tunisia-born coach admits that he can only do so much — the players must take responsibility.

Nabi has also defended his players from criticism. When Ranga Chivaviro was booed for missing chances on Tuesday, the coach pleaded with fans to remain patient.

“We can climb the table because if we win three games, we could be in third or fourth place. But if you lose two or three games, you could drop to 12th,” Nabi said.

“If a player misses a chance, I don’t go to them and ask why they did that. What I’m saying is that I want a sense of responsibility. If you lose, it’s part of football, but it’s not acceptable if you keep losing.

“If your son keeps failing math in school, you don’t just say, ‘Come here, my boy, what do you have?’ Maybe he needs extra lessons with a tutor.”

Nabi, however, doesn’t believe they need a ‘professor’ to help them with scoring goals—at least not yet.

“I don’t think our inability to score today was because we don’t have a striker’s coach,” the 59-year-old coach said. “It’s probably something we can discuss in the near future, but it wasn’t the issue in today’s game. It’s simple — we didn’t put the ball in the net.”

Nabi will hope his team finds their scoring touch when they visit Richards Bay for a league clash at the King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi on Sunday afternoon.