Kaizer Chiefs striker Ashley Du Preez has been in the news this week. The 28-year-old’s winning goal against Mamelodi Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup semifinals turned out to be offside.
ASHLEY DU PREEZ GOAL OFFSIDE
According to the former FIFA match official, Andile Ngcobo, the Kaizer Chiefs striker was likely too fast for the linesman to flag offside. “The assistant referee is human; he was caught for pace,” Ngcobo said as quoted by FARPost. “His football mind told him that the defenders would kick that ball out. So, that’s why he was just half a meter away from the offside line. That was offside. It should have been picked up as an offside. It was not a legitimate goal; it was given as a goal incorrectly.”
HOW KAIZER CHIEFS BEAT MAMELODI SUNDOWNS
Sundowns ace Teboho Mokoena opened the scoring with a sublime free kick on the stroke of halftime. Kaizer Chiefs striker Wandile Duba found the equaliser on 57 minutes before Ashley Du Preez struck the winner on the 89th minute. Coach Nabi has since revealed that the result was made possible by his tactical plan. “I think in the last two games against Sundowns we were unlucky that we did not score the opportunities we got,” Nabi said via Sowetan. “Today [Sunday], the game plan was we needed to play deep, we knew that Sundowns always like to find difficulty,” Nabi told the media during the post-match press conference.
“We knew that their centrebacks sometimes take risks and we tried to push to make a trap. I think even in the first half it was a tactical, at the beginning of the game, we said let’s manage the first half. We knew that Sundowns were [fatigued] after the game against Esperance and we knew that they couldn’t manage 90 minutes.
“But we had to prove that we deserve to be in the final…”
“You have to consider the number of years it took Sundowns to build their team, that’s why we are still in the process. We are taking things step by step in building our squad,” the Kaizer Chiefs mentor added.
“When we play Sundowns, one of the biggest teams, it’s always tough. But in the last match, they were luckier than us.
“We had opportunities but didn’t convert. Yet, they always manage to score, we manage to score. We always remind the players that we are often close to winning the game, but there are problems, mistakes or just bad luck,” Nabi concluded.
DO YOU AGREE WITH NASREDDINE NABI?
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