The 68-year-old mentor believes that their titanic clash with the Buccaneers will be a complete different game than Tuesday’s defeat to Stellies
Kaizer Chiefs head coach Stuart Baxter thinks his side’s surprise defeat to Stellenbosch FC won’t have any impact heading into their clash against Orlando Pirates on Saturday.
The Glamour Boys saw their four-match unbeaten run come to an end when they suffered a 1-0 loss to Stellies in a PSL match on Tuesday and it was also Chiefs’ first-ever defeat to the Western Cape side.
Ashley du Preez scored with a wonderful long-range shot in the first half and Amakhosi were unable to fight back and level matters in an encounter that was played at the iconic FNB Stadium.
Baxter admitted that the Glamour Boys lacked an edge as he reflected on his side’s narrow defeat to Stellies, who remain undefeated this season.
“We’ve got a massive game against Pirates coming up and you try to keep that out of your planning when you play another top and important team. But yeah, when we don’t have that, we take away the edge,” Baxter told the media.
“And that’s what I’ll say, this performance didn’t have the edge. We’ve had the edge that I’ve liked in almost every game, this one we didn’t have that edge, the decision was wrong, the technique was too exaggerated or we didn’t make that run when we should do.
“So this game didn’t have the edge, it wasn’t a bad game, yeah we lose and that is always a nightmare.”
The British tactician also indicated that his charges didn’t have an eye on the Soweto Derby which is the biggest game on the South African football calendar:
“It doesn’t affect the derby at all. I think the derby has its own life, that’s my experience,” Baxter, who was on the bench as Chiefs defeated Pirates in the 2021 Carling Black Label Cup in August, added.
“We have a couple of days to recoup and refresh and put together a game plan for Pirates because you certainly are not trying to get one eye on Pirates and Stellenbosch… that would be suicidal.
“We gave attention to this game and we will give Pirates their attention now.”
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