Kaizer Chiefs head coach Nasreddine Nabi has explained why captain Yusuf Maart dropped to the bench in their 1-0 defeat to SuperSport United on Saturday, and why Njabulo Blom hasn’t featured more yet.
Maart had started all previous four games this campaign but dropped to the bench in Chiefs’ loss to Matsatsantsa, with Samkelo Zwane and Edson Castillo getting a start in the defensive midfield roles.
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However, Castillo picked up an injury after 33 minutes and had to be replaced, meaning Maart still featured for 67 minutes in the game – with Nabi explaining he initially wanted to give his captain a rest and Castillo a chance after impressing in his previous sub appearances.
“We believe that Yusuf Maart has been playing since the beginning of the league and in the cup games and we thought that today was a good game to make him rest and give a chance to Castillo to start,” he told journalists.
“Because against Sundowns when he came in he played well, and in the 20 minutes he played against SuperSport [in the Carling] he was good, too. We wanted to give him that continuity.”
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Meanwhile, Blom has only started one game so far and Nabi explained it’s based on lack of fitness.
“About Blom, it’s a matter of fitness conditioning, which has been improving since he arrived,” he added.
“You can even see that he’s starting to pick up. We believe that he’s a player who can help because of his experience and everything.”
Chiefs return to action on Wednesday when they play newly promoted Magesi FC at 19:30.
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