Amakhosi missed out on the opportunity to face Tottenham Hotspur in Saturday’s deciding match after Tlou Segolela’s second half goal handed Orlando Pirates a 1-0 Vodacom Derby win at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Chiefs played well in the first half, but were out-hustled by Bucs after the break. However, Vermezovic is not about to start panicking.
“I believe in my squad; I’m satisfied with my players,” he says. “We use these pre-season games for our new guys to gain some experience.
“It was tough games – against a big club in Europe and against our biggest rival. But we learnt from it and now know our strengths and where we have problems.”
Chiefs missed some scoring chances in the first half, especially when Siphiwe Tshabalala volleyed over with an open goal, but Vermezovic is not too worried.
“I was surprised with the level of the game so early in pre-season,” he says. “You could see both teams were tired; it’s not normal to be fresh in this period.
“Generally they kept possession well. We were well organised in middle, but they had lots of their players behind the ball. We will try to fix our problems and not worry about their game.
“We had some opportunities, especially in the first half. Usually Tshabalala and [Lehlohonolo] Majoro will use those chances if they are fresh, but I’m confident they will score when it’s more important.”
Meanwhile, Vermezovic remains cagey about the future of Knowledge Musona, who started the match. Asked what was happening with his proposed move to German Bundesliga club Hoffenheim, VV replied: “As you can see Musona is here. Musona is still our player.”
Your comments on this story...
It'll be de same nxt week saturday in Mqombothi cup, will moer u then give u de trophy cos we dnt need any tshwala trophies.
If I were Hollard I'd b very worried abt da number of funeral & hospital plan claims dt r gonna b received dis cumin season! Hollard must cut it's losses & terminate dis disaster of a partnership!
Tsipa!... cedela wena
VV field Lebese,Mateba,Sibeko,Khune&Mashamaite.I'm sure they can do better.Yeye always outclass Nengomasha whom I think has outlived his invitation at CHIEFS.
Bucs till bobby motaung loses weight.
tsipaaaaaaaaaaaaaa tse ntsho tsipaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!
We should be using pre-season to build depth and plug the gaps but what does this clown do? He goes back to his old ways.How do you explain the fact that he started with Sweswe and Isaacs,a combination that cost him dearly in his first season in charge? This at a time when he has signed new defenders. Who does not know of Isaacs lack of physical strenght?
I also hate his habit of bringing on new players when the team is down.He did it with Mashamaite and Ritchie last night,in the past he did the same with Lebese,Ncanana and Khune.The supporters blame them for defeats and they lose confidence as the team is under pressure.
And why oh why does he insist on plying Nale,Yende and Masango when all they've done is move backwards in the past 3 years?Yende is so heavy I have yet to see him go past another player.