Baxter adamant Chiefs played well in City draw

As lacklustre as their performance against Cape Town City looked in the eyes of many, Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter thinks they were dominant.

The match ended goalless at Cape Town Stadium on Tuesday. Struggling to even make box entries, Chiefs managed only a single shot on target while City had four. 

“The performance... I think we had good control of the game until probably about the last 10, 15 minutes. I really think we had good control of the game,’’ insisted Baxter.

The Chiefs coach went on to say they deserved to win. Baxter rates their display against the Citizens as better than the one they put in when they lost 1-0 to TS Galaxy in the first round of the Nedbank Cup last Sunday. Against Galaxy, Amakhosi had three shots on target.

“We did create chances without really hitting the target with our finishes but we were the ones who should have gone on and won the game. All in all, I thought it was a better performance than the one against TS Galaxy,’’ said Baxter.

Baxter accepted the point at the end. “The fact that we didn’t win means we have to accept the point and take the positives from there.’’

City coach Eric Tinkler also welcomed the point.

“The true reflection of the game is a draw. It’s a fair result. The intensity and work ethic today was a lot better than what I saw against Royal AM [where they lost 2-1 in the Nedbank Cup first round], so there are certain positives that we can take obviously from the performance,’’ said Tinkler.

Even so, Tinkler acknowledged the reality that both teams weren’t enterprising going forward. The City coach said that Chiefs’ approach of deploying five defenders made it difficult for them to attack.

“Both teams weren’t at their best offensively. Our first touch let us down. Our transitional play wasn’t quick enough and because of that it obviously allowed Chiefs to get back and organise themselves. Because they played with a back five, it was difficult to penetrate and break them down,’’ Tinkler said.