Nasreddine Nabi defends Kaizer Chiefs changes against AmaZulu

Nabi fielded a more offensive team in hopes of picking up maximum points against Usuthu, but was forced to settle for a 2-2 draw at FNB Stadium on Tuesday evening.

The Tunisian-born coach says he had no choice but to make these changes due to various factors, including injuries, suspension and fatigue.

"The changes were due essentially to fatigue just two days after a very big game, that was demanding both physically and mentally," said Nabi.

"Even with those changes, we needed to have a competitive team, but also maintain a good balance to give us three points – that's the only thing that we were thinking about.

"There are also some players that the GPS showed from the last game were a little bit in the red zone – for example, someone like Ox had a little bit of discomfort in his muscles due to the fatigue after today's game."

While Njabulo Blom is expected to return after serving his one-match suspension, it was revealed that George Matlou will be sidelined for Friday’s fixture away to Stellenbosch FC.

"Blom was suspended today, while George Matlou, who was injured from the last game, was not available today and will also not be available for the next game," he confirmed.

Meanwhile, for all their dominance in attack, Amakhosi were unable to produce a goal themselves – as Ramahlwe Mphahlele and Richard Ofori both netted own-goals in the encounter, something Nabi acknowledged was frustrating.

"It's true that it was a frustrating game because we talked about how we got into the game very well, we could have even scored in the first minute," added Nabi.

"We were the better team on the field, with no disrespect to the opponents, who also had a good game, but we feel we could have scored to kill the game, but every time we were a little bit naive and allowed the opponent to stay alive [sic].

"There were also some good things, like we saw the qualities of our new signings, even though they haven't had enough time to get used to their teammates.

"But that's how football is, we have to move on and continue working hard for the next games."

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