Solinas reflects on 'painful' loss to Pirates

by Staff Reporter

Monday Nov 26, 2018. 13:00

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Giovanni Solinas has described his side's Telkom Knockout semifinal defeat to Orlando Pirates as 'very painful'.

The Amakhosi's trophy drought will extend into 2019, with South Africa's biggest team having last won silverware three years ago.

The appointment of Solinas, together with the arrival of high-profile attackers Khama Billiat and Lebogang Manyama pointed to a new exciting chapter for the Glamour Boys, but that has yet to be the case.

Defeat to SuperSport United in the MTN8 semifinals, coupled with a slow start to the Absa Premiership season and Telkom Knockout defeat to their fiercest rivals has ramped up the pressure at Naturena, with Solinas seemingly starring down the barrel.

"It’s very painful to lose the derby. Very disappointed, very painful. We tried, we were fighting. We had the chance also in the last minute two chances, this is football,” the Italian told SuperSport TV.

“Maybe if we had scored two [goals] then it’s a different history. The guys tried to fight until the last second but the reality is that we lost the derby, this is very painful.”

Solinas continued: "I don’t know about the calendar [year] but we lost two derbies [in a row], this I repeat is very painful. I feel the pain. I apologise to our supporters. We tried our best, we tried everything.

“Football is about the details, the details today were with Pirates. Maybe we score two goals [in the end] and the game is another history. The details is about scoring and not scoring. We score, maybe we equalise and go to extra time and maybe we win on penalties. This is football.”

Chiefs have lost three successive Soweto derbies this year, going down twice to Pirates in league action in 2018.