The Glamour Boys held on for an hour in north Africa to secure victory after Samir Nurkovic’s VAR-allowed goal in the 34th minute
Kaizer Chiefs’ 1-0 win over Wydad Casablanca in the a Caf Champions League first leg semi-final match at the Stade Mohamed V on Saturday night has put the South Africans firmly in the driving seat.
It was a great start for Amakhosi, although it’s only half-time in the tie and caretaker coach Arthur Zwane – in charge while Stuart Baxter awaits his work permit – has cautioned against getting carried away.
“We came here to do the business, and we did exactly that. We are happy with the result, but it’s not yet over, because we are still going back home,” he said in the post-match interview.
“It’s not yet over, we still have another 90 minutes to make sure that we go through to the final.
“We are still going to play the second leg, we’ll welcome them back at home in Joburg. And obviously we will try and finish it off there.”
While the tie is indeed finely balanced, Chiefs may have an advantage in that Wydad will have to chase the game in Soweto. Which could allow Amakhosi to pick off their opponents on the counter attack, like they did in Casablanca with Nurkovic’s superbly-taken goal from Njabulo Blom cross.
Other than that, Chiefs’ win was based on some solid defending for the most part, and also some brilliant saves by Bruce Bvuma. Plus a few misses from the Wydad strikers.
“We’ve done what we came here for. We wanted to get a goal or two, fortunately we got one,” Zwane added.
“When we come back home, they will be chasing the game, it will open up a bit and so we’ll also try to punish them.
“I think we were very disciplined at the back today. We hope to keep a clean sheet at home as well and hopefully get another goal.”
Chiefs could potentially meet former Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane in the final – he guided his Al Ahly side to a 1-0 first leg win over ES Tunis, also away from home.
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