Zipho Dlangalala: Warm-up routine may be the key to fixing Kaizer Chiefs’ finishing

A SOUTH African technical expert who watched Kaizer Chiefs’ 1-0 defeat to Golden Arrows last weekend says he was not surprised by the match statistics of the Premiership encounter at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Zipho Dlangalala – the former Maritzburg United coach who has previously worked at Mamelodi Sundowns and the University of Pretoria, among others – was at the World Cup venue on Sunday, and was not taken aback that Amakhosi had just a single shot on target from their 13 attempts.

“The Chiefs attempts at goal – off and on target – are a true reflection of their warm-up on the same (day). I watched them, and most of their shots flew all over the place rather than to the goals,” Dlagalala told Independent Media Sport, adding that this is a pattern he has observed for a while now, even before the arrival of new coach Nasreddine Nabi.

Chiefs created a lot of opportunities in that match, their tricky midfielders and wingers managing to carve the Arrows defence open – but many times, the shooting in the final third left a lot to be desired.

It’s been this way for most of the season, with the club incredulously seeing their ability to create more chances than most clubs as a positive, despite the fact it does not yield the desired outcome: goals.

The last Chiefs strikes came from youngster Wandile Duba, who scored a brace in the 2-1 win over Stellenbosch FC on January 8, and Mduduzi Shabalala scored the decisive goal in the 1-0 victory over Chippa United on December 29.

A student of the game and a man who is very observant of even the smallest of technical issues, Dlangalala is intrigued by the fact that Chiefs tend to have the same pre-match warm-up drill, with their players usually shooting for goal from outside the box.

“Every time I’ve watched Chiefs, their warm-up routine is similar and they are generally shooting for goals from outside the box,” he said.

“Now, when the players miss the target and what that does, especially in front of a crowd that is already there anticipating the match, it robs the players of confidence.

“But strangely, the way Chiefs play during a match is not in line with the warm-up.

“They very rarely create the opportunity for shots from outside the box, so my question is why warm-up that way if you are not going to replicate it in a game situation.”

It is an observation that Chiefs would do well to consider and perhaps rethink.

After all, it is not going to help the Amakhosi to continuously highlight how they have created the most chances in a match when that does not yield them the requisite three points, will it?

Congratulations to Mduduzi Shabalala: Betway Premiership Goal of the Month Winner: November/December 2024

Shabalala’s great solo goal against Chippa United in Durban last month earned him this award!#Amakhosi4Life #BetwayPrem #AlwaysHome pic.twitter.com/rRLU9a2IBH

— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs) January 14, 2025

Chiefs will be at the Moses Mabhida Stadium yet again on Sunday when they will be hosting Sekhukhune United (3.30pm), and the eagle-eyed Dlangalala is likely to be watching with interest, eager to see just what Amakhosi do.

He was particularly intrigued by the fact that a team coached by a highly regarded international coach went down to one led by a Musa Bilankulu, who is still fresh from retiring as a player and only just learning the ropes of coaching.

Nabi will not be on the bench this time around, sent off as he was for post-match behaviour so petulantly unbecoming of one so experienced – the Tunisian having pestered the referee with his complaint about the time added on for stoppages not being enough, as though Chiefs would have scored the equaliser had there been more than those three minutes.

Will their warm-up routine change? Perhaps it should, as it might impact on the outcome of the game, as per Dlangalala’s observation. | Independent Media Sport