Stuart Baxter Says Playing Khama Billiat in the Final Was a "Huge Gamble" for Kaizer Chiefs
- Stuart Baxter has admitted that bringing Khama Billiat on during the final was a big gamble on his part
- Desperate for attacking options, Baxter put the forward on but it ended up not paying off the way he would've liked
- Kaizer Chiefs lost 3-0 to Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League final, disappointing fans who obviously wanted them to win
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Following Kaizer Chiefs' 3-0 defeat to Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League final on Saturday, head coach Stuart Baxter stated that his choice to bring Khama Billiat in was a gamble.
Baxter reacted to Happy Mashiane's red card on the stroke of half-time at the Mohamed V Stadium by taking Billiat off the bench at the start of the second half.
Pitso Mosimane's team, on the other hand, took advantage of the additional man and switched up their playing flair with incredible speed.
Source: Instagram
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"It's a cup final, you can't go in and play 4-4-1 and only defend, so we went with a 4-3-2 and brought in Khama, which was a gamble really, because he's not played for so long," said Baxter according to News24.
Baxter also said that Kaizer Chiefs stood no chance once Happy Mashiane was sent off at the stroke of halftime. According to Baxter, this is what caused them to lose a grip on the match.
As quoted by SowetanLIVE, Baxter said:
“The goals that we gave away were poor goals. If we defend properly and normally, we can extend that time when they don’t score and increase the frustration for them."
Daniel Akpeyi breaks silence on painful loss to Al Ahly in the final
Briefly News previously reported that Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi took to social media to reflect on their loss to Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League final.
Amakhosi lost 3-0 to Pitso Mosimane's men and were undone by a red card that was given to Happy Mashiane at the stroke of halftime.
After goals from Mohamed Sherif, Mohamed Magdi Kafsha and Amr Al Sulaya propelled Pitso Mosimane's team to victory, the Nigerian goalkeeper has been chastised for his performance during the match.
“Every champion has once lost a fight (sadly so) but they’ve never lost their dream, no matter the opinion about them, nature do conform [sic] to them at the right time,” said Akpeyi on Instagram.
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Source: Briefly News
