Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Khalil Ben Youssef has attributed the weekend’s CAF Confederation Cup Group D opener defeat away to Egyptian side Al Masry to lack of experience, aiming to bounce back by beating Zamalek.
Al Masry, whose best-ever run in the Confederation Cup was reaching the semifinals in 2018, beat Chiefs 2-1 in Suez.
More than 80% of our players were playing this type of competition for the first time.
— Khalil Ben Youssef, Kaizer Chiefs co-coach
Amakhosi goalkeeper and skipper Brandon Petersen conceded a penalty that resulted in the hosts’ opener in the 59th minute, while defender Inacio Miguel’s miscue in the 87th minute gifted Al Masry the winning goal.
Dillan Solomons was on target for Chiefs, who are playing in the Confederation Cup group phase for the first time in the recent era.
Amakhosi’s next Group D fixture is against another Egyptian side, Zamalek, who have won this competition twice before, at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday at 3pm.
“I think more than 80% of our players were playing this type of competition for the first time [against Al Masry]… it [the Confederation Cup] is different from the PSL. It’s a competition where you need to be more focused and be more aggressive,” Ben Youssef said.
“We were expecting this game to be tough for both teams. I am happy about the performance of our players… I think we did very well. The only problem was experience… In this type of tournament, if you want to win, you can’t make the type of mistakes we made.”
The Amakhosi co-mentor stressed the importance of paying attention to small details in continental football as they aim to redeem themselves against the 2018/19 and 2023/24 seasons’ champions, Zamalek. Ben Youssef emphasised that they must win all their home fixtures if they are to get out of the group stages.
“It’s a high-level competition where small details are crucial. I have told the players now that we have to learn from our mistakes. We have to stay confident and continue to work hard,” Ben Youssef said.
“Zamalek are one of the best teams in Africa, and they also have a lot of experience in this type of competition, but for us, if we want to qualify for the knockout phase, we can’t make mistakes in home games. We need to win all our home games.”
Sowetan