Kaizer Chiefs legend Doctor Khumalo has questioned the leadership within the Amakhosi squad after their elimination from the CAF Confederation Cup, suggesting that Reeve Frosler did not look comfortable enough to take a penalty against Red Arrows.

Chiefs were knocked out of the competition after losing 3-2 in the penalty shootout at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday. The Soweto giants had managed to level the aggregate score after Bradley Cross scored the only goal of the match, but they failed to convert enough penalties to secure qualification for the next round.

Lebohang Maboe, Frosler and Ethan Chislett all missed their spot-kicks as Red Arrows progressed in the competition.

Khumalo believes the players could have shown more leadership by assessing the situation before deciding who should take the penalties. He questioned whether Frosler was the right choice, pointing to the defender’s body language as he approached the spot.

“I said his body language was not a positive one, it was a little sluggish,” Khumalo said on SABC2.

The former Chiefs midfielder explained that there should be communication among players when important decisions have to be made, particularly during moments of pressure. He believes experienced members of the squad should be able to speak up if they feel a teammate is not in the right condition to take a penalty.

“The question is, do we have leadership within the players, because there are certain players that can probably command to say, ‘No, sorry coach, I don’t think so and so should take it’,” he added.

Khumalo also shared an example from his playing career, recalling how the late Ace Ntsolengoe once advised a coach against allowing him to take a penalty after a difficult performance.

He said Ntsolengoe wanted to protect him from additional pressure, highlighting the importance of teammates looking out for one another during challenging moments.

“It happened to me, when I was still playing. I had a bad game and the late Ace Ntsolengoe, the coach selected me and he said, ‘Coach, I don’t think you need to give Doc a penalty because I don’t think he had a good game, let’s protect’,” Khumalo recalled.

Despite his concerns about the leadership within the squad, Khumalo was careful not to place all the blame on the players who missed their penalties. He acknowledged that penalty shootouts can go either way and that different players have different approaches to taking spot-kicks.

He also noted that younger players had been given important responsibilities during the match and that the situation required the team to regroup after the disappointment.

For Chiefs, the elimination means they must now turn their attention to their remaining competitions while addressing questions about leadership, decision-making and handling pressure in crucial moments.

Source: IDiskiTimes