Fernando da Cruz bemoans defensive errors after Richards Bay stalemate

26.08.26 FT South African Betway Premiership

Richards Bay

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Kaizer Chiefs

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Kaizer Chiefs head coach Fernando da Cruz has bemoaned the defensive errors after their 2-2 draw with Richards Bay at Princess Magogo Stadium on Wednesday night.

The Glamour Boys made it two consecutive draws in the Betway Premiership, which saw them drop to third place on the log standings with eight points accumulated in the opening four matches of the 2026/27 season.

Having gifted the Natal Rich Boys two goals, owing to schoolboy errors at the back, da Cruz expressed disappointment with the manner in which his troops cheaply conceded.

“I'm very disappointed because our team attacked during the 90 minutes, the other team was defending during the 90 minutes, and we made two big mistakes. And today it's one point, but normally it should be three points,” said the Chiefs boss.

"We have eight points but normally we need to have 12 points because against Mamelodi Sundowns we also made mistakes. So, today we need to learn about our mistakes and to continue to work hard going forward.

"I have two different feelings, I'm very disappointed but also I'm happy about the performance of the team because the team played well, but we cannot make these types of mistakes at this level.

The Frenchman showed his tactical nous with a host of attacking changes in search of the equalizing goal in the second half, and was left impressed with the impact the substitutions made en route to salvaging a point.

“The idea was to put fresh players and speed also because the players who started the game were a little bit tired, but I'm very happy about the mindset and the performance of the players who came in,” da Cruz added.

"So, we need to continue because we had two big chances, one with [Etiosa] Ighodaro, one with [Wandile] Duba also, so I'm happy about the mindset of the impact players.

Chiefs will swing back to Betway Premiership action with a clash against Siwelele FC at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Saturday, 05 September, as they look to snap the winless run.

Hlayisani Magoro

Editorfr, en

Football journalist from South Africa covering African football news, exclusive stories and key events while sharing insights with passionate fans of the game.

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