Amazulu Headcoach Cavin Johnson during the interview when AmaZulu FC takes head on their KwaZulu-Natal rivals Maritzburg United in an Absa Premiership match at the King Zwelithini Stadium in Durban Though Kaizer Chiefs may be mathematically closer to the relegation zone than Caf football qualification, eternal optimist Cavin Johnson foresees a strong finish for his side. Picture: Motshwari Mofokeng/Independent Media
Though Kaizer Chiefs may be mathematically closer to the relegation zone than Caf football qualification, eternal optimist Cavin Johnson foresees a strong finish to the DStv Premiership for his team.
Chiefs currently have 30 points and are 10th on the Premiership log, just four points above Moroka Swallows who are 14th and third from bottom in the table.
While the bottom three will be involved in a relegation battle until the end of the season, the top three on the log will qualify for Caf competitions.
The top two teams qualify for the Champions League, while the side that finishes third books a ticket into the Confederation Cup.
In fact, Chiefs’ arch rivals Orlando Pirates currently occupy third spot on the log with 40 points. That’s a full 10 points ahead of the AmaKhosi.
When asked if he had given up on qualifying for Caf competition, Johnson was defiant in his response.
“I’ll never say goodbye until the last game. We as a technical team have to push as hard as we can. For us, that’s [qualifying for Caf competition] not out of our way. We know that. It’s one major pressure. But the bubble that we’re in now, we have to break the pressure bubble somewhere,” said Johnson.
With their latest defeat to Richards Bay FC in Durban on Sunday, it extended Chiefs’ winless streak in the league to five matches which dates back to March 5 when they picked up their last victory.
After the Richards Bay loss, Johnson rued his side’s lack of clinical finishing.
“It was one of those games where your opposition has one chance at goal, and you have 85 percent ball possession and you are not able to win the game. We are very angry with ourselves. At the same time, I thought we should have won the game in the first half.
“The second half was a little bit different, but in the first half we had a lot of possession in the box quite a few times. We should have put the combinations [together] and used calmness to score the goals.
“It was not to be today. The players are in the dressing room arguing with each other over things we know we should do better.”