Fernando Da Cruz’s side suffered a shock exit from the continental competition at the hands of Zambia’s Red Arrows in the second qualifying round.

After losing 1-0 on the road in the first leg, Amakhosi secured a 1-0 victory at home to take the tie to penalties, where they suffered a 3-2 defeat.

Next up for the Soweto giants is a Carling Knockout Cup last 16 tie against TS Galaxy at the FNB Stadium on Tuesday.

“It’s disappointing falling out of the CAF competition. The guys did well to try and get back after the first leg in Zambia but it just wasn’t meant to be,” Frosler told the Chiefs’ website.

“TS Galaxy have been a tough opponent for us in the last few games.

“But it’s a cup competition and cup games are always different. We’ll look to put our best foot forward on Tuesday and try and go all the way in the Carling Cup. We have ambitions of wanting to win a trophy and this gives us an opportunity to try and do that.”

“Obviously we’ve got the (Soweto) Derby coming up on the weekend as well, but our attention is on TS Galaxy now and we will use the game as preparation for Saturday,” added Frosler.

The last time, Chiefs played the Rockets, in the Betway Premiership in April, they emerged with a 2-0. But Galaxy won both of their previous knockout meetings, including in the 2019 Nedbank Cup final and in the last 32 of the Nedbank Cup in 2022.