Johnson addresses Msimango red card

Cavin Johnson has shared his thoughts on Given Msimango receiving a red card and explained why he opted to make no substitutions until the second half as Kaizer Chiefs were defeated 5-1 by Mamelodi Sundowns.

Amakhosi were handed a 5-1 beating by The Brazilians at FNB Stadium on Thursday. 

Chiefs seemed to dominate the match, until they were reduced to 10 men after 20 minutes when centre-back Given Msimango was shown a red card following a tackle on Lucas Ribeiro Costa, who looked headed for goal.

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To the surprise of many spectators, Johnson made no substitutions to reinforce the defence after Msimango’s dismissal for the remainder of the half.

Happy Mashiane and Sibongiseni Mthethwa were only introduced in the 63rd minute when Sundowns had gone 2-0 up.

Speaking to the media after the match, Johnson addressed the impact of the red card and explained his changes during the encounter.

"I thought the red card also spoilt my game in one moment," Johnson said.

"I don’t know if it was a red card, I still have to look at the replay.

"It was not a matter of bringing in another centre-back.

"We had Zitha [Kwinika] playing right back, who also plays as a centre-back. We put Zitha to the centre-back and we put [Yusuf] Maart at right back.

"We had [Edson] Castillo and [Siyethemba] Sithebe in the middle, so we were more than happy with that and, as you can see, the whole first half we were more than comfortable. We were able to stop them from paying and stop them from scoring.

"So, we were okay. I thought we held it very very well."

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It was a fifth defeat in five matches for Chiefs, who are now hanging on for dear life inside the Top Eight bracket.

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