Samir Nurkovic of Kaizer Chiefs during the Kaizer Chiefs Media Day on 19 February 2020 at Kaizer Chiefs Village Pic Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
Kaizer Chiefs coach doesn’t have much to say to Samir Nurkovic
Samir Nurkovic may have missed a penalty in the derby but Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt has backed him to put the incident behind him.
Samir Nurkovic of Kaizer Chiefs during the Kaizer Chiefs Media Day on 19 February 2020 at Kaizer Chiefs Village Pic Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt has admitted that he is yet to speak directly to striker Samir Nurkovic after his Soweto Derby penalty miss.
Nurkovic had a golden chance to pull Kaizer Chiefs level from the spot but was denied by Richard Ofori in the Orlando Pirates goal.
A haunting miss from Nurkovic
The penalty in the 52nd minute of the contest would have changed the game but as it was, Pirates held Kaizer Chiefs at bay before extending their lead with ten minutes left on the clock. Daniel Cardoso netted late on but Amakhosi were unable to force and equaliser.
Ahead of Kaizer Chiefs’ Nedbank Cup round of 32 match against Richards Bay FC, Hunt said there wasn’t much he could say to Nurkovic about the miss. Nurkovic struck his penalty quite well but probably should have placed it further away from Ofori who needed only to take a step to his right to get a strong hand of the Serbian’s drive.
“You can never [talk], I mean, there’s nothing much to say, except practice and hopefully it doesn’t happen again, you know what I mean,” Hunt told reporters.
“There’s nothing much you can say to any player that misses a penalty and, believe you me, better players around the world will penalties in the future as well.
“So, it happens in football. I always say, when you take a penalty, you’ve got to have the conviction to really take the ball and want to take it, because those things [misses] happen in football.
“But, no, there’s nothing been said, he’ll obviously try and put it right the next game.”
Kickoff
Despite shouldering some of the blame for the team going down in the derby, Nurkovic has been excellent this term and it is believed he will soon be offered an improved deal to keep him at Naturena.
Nedbank Cup: A big one for Kaizer Chiefs
The Nedbank Cup now represents arguably Kaizer Chiefs best chance of silverware this season, although they are still in the running for the Caf Champions League.
In continental competition, the Glamour Boys are drawn against opponents familiar to South African football fans in Guinea’s Horoya, Wydad Casabalanca of Morocco and Angolan side Petro de Luanda who face Sundowns in 2019.
Having played 15 league matches Kaizer Chiefs are 15 points off the top and currently sitting back in eighth place but Hunt remains confident that he will be given time to turn things around.
