Cavin Johnson explains argument with goalkeeper Brandon Petersen

Petersen, an unused substitute on the day, was caught on camera screaming at Johnson and then walking away.

But the coach said afterwards he would have been more surprised if none of his players were frustrated having lost a match against their bitter rivals.

"Oh, it was just a normal chat with the coach. 'Coach, we lost the game, what do we have to fight'. Did you see Kevin De Bruyne tell Pep Guardiola to shut up? It's normal. I want my players to react when we lose. I want them to react and if they react to me then I take all that on my shoulder because tomorrow I will fix up whatever the reaction is and that is football," Johnson said.

Amakhosi had taken the lead going into the half-time break thanks to a double from striker Ashley Du Preez, but The Buccaneers clawed their way back in the second half with Monnapule Saleng’s goal winning them all three points.

Johnson insists it was the kind of performance that could have gotten anyone boiling, and the coach encouraged players to speak their minds.

"I don't want them to be mouses [mice], they have to be people who come and question me. I have to question them because in front of a 100,000 people, no one can hear each other, it's only those 11 players on the pitch that have to work,” Johnson added.

“I don't think we played [badly], we came out of our blocks a lot quicker than Pirates and we knew that they were gonna try and play against us. So, if we press them and we win the ball then maybe we can score but it's not deliberate counterattack football. Did it look like counterattack football to you?"

Saleng’s two goals as well as a stunner from Soweto Derby debutant Thabiso Lebitso were enough in the end for Pirates to complete a league double over Chiefs this season.

But Johnson adds they were gifts from their errors at the back.

"I thought the two goals we gave them, I think the first goal and the second goal or the third goal, I think the third goal. It was very soft goals as far as I see. I don't think they worked hard enough to get those goals but in saying that, yes we played a good half, second half, we were a bit out of it but still not that bad that we can give them all three points. So, yeah we're disappointed."