Durban - Kaizer Chiefs head coach Arthur Zwane was left beaming with pride as his side booked their spot in the final four of the Nedbank Cup.
Amakhosi fought back from a goal down to overcome Royal AM 2-1 at the Chatsworth Stadium on Sunday evening.
A Chiefs side still finding their feet with new players and youngsters were quickly put to the ultimate resilience test as they went a goal inside the first 30 minutes in front of a near-capacity crowd in Durban.
However, a fortunate Thabo Matlaba own goal and an extra time Yusuf Maart penalty saw them emerge victorious.
Zwane expressed a deep sense of pride while speaking to the media after the match, applauding the mindset of his team.
“I can't fault the efforts of these boys. They came here with the right attitude and all they wanted to do was to get to the semifinal and take it from there,” he expressed.
“I’m actually proud of the hunger, dedication and desire because I think that’s all we needed today to go through to the semifinals.”
Following a sloppy first 60 minutes, The Glamour Boys seemed to have the cutting edge in the latter stage of the first half and extra time, which Zwane said he expected considering the way his side is set up to play and their fitness levels.
“Because of the pressure we usually apply, we forced them into a mistake and that’s our game and it’s been working for us because of the high-tempo game we play,” he revealed.
He further added: “Going into extra time, I was confident that we would create more because of how we play and their legs couldn't carry them anymore, I think we're one of the fittest teams in the league so I knew going into extra time that we would create more chances and possibly find the second goal.”
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