Khalil Ben Youssef adamant Kaizer Chiefs were ‘unlucky’ against Marumo Gallants in PSL clash - ‘I think we deserved to win this game’

Kaizer Chiefs, once again, dropped points on Wednesday at the FNB Stadium after playing to a 1-1 draw with Marumo Gallants.

The hosts started the game brightly, taking a deserved lead courtesy of Khanyisa Mayo, before Gaston Sirino failed to double the advantage as his penalty was saved by Washington Arubi.

Jaisen Clifford then struck in the second half to ensure the Glamour Boys did not get a win.

Chiefs are now winless in the four games played across all competitions; three in the Premier Soccer League and one in the CAF Confederation Cup.

The latest result was a blow, not only to the fans but to the team, especially after the unceremonious exit of coach Nasreddine Nabi.

Club's assistant coach Khalil Ben Youssef believes Amakhosi were unlucky to get just a point, but went on to laud the players for their display.

"I have to say congratulations to the coach of Marumo Gallants and the team. I think the performance they showed this season... they are very good," he said in his post-match interview.

"They are a very good team, there’s a lot of quality inside. I think we deserved to win this game, we managed the game, we were in control of the game all 90 minutes, they didn’t have any situation to score. 

"The only situation was shooting from outside the box; [Clifford] was lucky to score his goal," Ben Youssef continued.

"But like I said before, when you play football, you have to score to finish the goal. When you have the opportunity to score the first goal, last five minutes, we got three or four opportunities, we were unlucky - the penalty was unlucky.

"In the second half [against Gallants], we started the game very well, the first 15 minutes we got two opportunities to score. It’s like that in football; if you don’t score, you’re always in a risky situation where you will concede a goal," he added.

Ben Youssef has now promised the fans a win on Saturday when they play Kabuscorp in the second leg of the first preliminary round of the CAF Confederation Cup.

"Congratulations to Marumo Gallants for the points and hard luck for us, now finish this game and now think about the next game. 

"Very important game this Saturday for us, we have to think, and I’m sorry for the fans today, and we hope will make them happy Saturday.

"I know that we have not won in the last three games, but the most important thing for us is the performance, rather than the result. The team performed well, and we were unlucky not to score more goals to win this game,"  he concluded.

Chiefs management have not confirmed who will take over from Nabi about a week after parting ways.

Ben Youssef and Cedric Kaze have to put their heads together and ensure the players deliver this weekend to avoid an embarrassing exit from the CAF Confederation Cup in the first hurdle.