Kaizer Chiefs head coach Gavin Hunt on Tuesday said that he cannot fault his players’ efforts after being held to a 0-0 draw by Petro de Luanda in a CAF Champions League clash in Angola.
Hunt’s side holds a precarious position in Group C by occupying third spot with their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages seemingly now more difficult.
The 56-year-old admitted that he expected a tougher encounter in Angola following his side’s 2-0 win at home while adding that his players showed signs of fatigue.
“We knew they were going to be much tougher at home and they were, Hunt said post-match. “We also played in a way where we tried to play a bit more on the counter-attack.
“So we dropped back a little bit by 10-15 metres and it worked, I just thought our final ball or pass around the box let us down and that was just down to quality.
“So we have to be better there but all in all we had a good couple of moments and so did they. It looked a real tired performance from both sides so I think the draw was a fair result.”
Hunt added that he couldn’t fault his players’ efforts despite a congested fixture schedule but was disheartened as they now needed two wins from their last two fixtures.
“We’re obviously disappointed but you’ve got to take many things into consideration so I think the team did well.
“I think we’ve been going now for a good few months and you can see it’s starting now to take effect, we’ve got to get through the weekend and then we need a break.
“That’s for sure, we need a break you can see it so we have one last push for the weekend and then we have the FIFA break and I think that’s going to help us just to revitalise us a bit.
“You can see there’s a bit of mental fatigue with all the playing and travelling but they gave me their all.
“The most important thing is they’re fighting, they’re working and doing their best and that’s the most important thing.
“You can’t fault the players.
“To qualify I think we’re going to maybe have to get a win and a draw which might get us into the knockout stages, but we’ve got Wydad and obviously Horoya away.
“I think we’ve had one bad result in our first three games which I think isn’t bad so I think we’ve done okay if you look at the results.
“So we had some good battling displays,” concluded Hunt.
