Midweek when Pitso Mosimane had his press conference he gave Kaizer Chiefs no option but to win the league, that was classic way of starting mind have and what he did may have added pressure mentally on the side from Naturena.
In their loss to Maritzburg United, Kaizer Chiefs began like a house on fire, throwing attack after attack at Eric Tinklers side. Chiefs created multiple opportunities but failed to convert. Maritzburg United in the second half made changes and grabbed the game by a choke hold, now when the hour mark came that's when Tinklers side turned on the screws.
Midfielder Daylon Claasen scored a quick fire brace, Samir Nurkovic answered back with his 11th goal of the season with 12 minutes left to play, it was a little too late. Tinklers side were swift in their play, while Middendorps team was deflated, they seemed absent minded. Their body languages showed that their minds were somewhere else, mentally they were off and their tactics did not aid them.
They must have heard the comments Pitso Mosimane made earlier in the week about the league being in their hands and obviously the school analogy. Did that play in the minds of the Chiefs players, yes it did. It was a brilliant form of mind games from the man known as Jingles.
"We put in 12 games in Caf, went to the final in the Telkom Cup, MTN 8; two semifinals, competitors did not even make the top 8. So they are fresh, they are strong, they have got to win the league, they have got no excuse.
Its like I am at school, doing ten courses and you are doing three or four, at the end of the year you have to pass and with distinctions. Because I am doing ten courses, I need more time to cover the amount of work, classes and studying, its tiring and stressful, pressure, so you have got to pass. So the league is in their hands they have to win it, you can never not," said Mosimane.
Prior to their game against Maritzburg United, Kaizer Chiefs must have been aware of Mamelodi Sundowns win over Chippa United at Loftus Versfeld, the Brazilians had managed to chop down the lead by three points to make the gap a seven point one for Chiefs. The Mamelodi Sundowns players have bought into the notion that the league is in the hands of Kaiser Chiefs.
"All we need to do is win our games and hope they lose a few games. At the moment it is not in our hands, all we have to do is win our games and keep believing. I do not think anyone can be at the top from start to finish, of course they have more points but anything is possible in football. As long as we win, we put pressure on them, we have to believe. At the end someone has to cross the line and hopefully it can be us. They have an edge as they are leading with a lot of points and with a few games to play, we still have them at FNB. We have to keep believing," said Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Dennis Onyango.
The going is still going to get tough for Middendorps team, they still have Bidvest Wits to play twice, a Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns. The log leaders will need to have mental resolve and the pressures of being at the top is still going to increase.
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