Kaizer Chiefs coach Hunt blames 'old Achilles Heel' for Bloemfontein Celtic setback

Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt was happy with the effort his men gave him but was displeased with the defending in their 2-2 league draw with Bloemfontein Celtic at the Dr Molemela Stadium on Saturday.

After two well-taken early goals, a Happy Mashiane free-kick and an Eric Mathoho header, it was looking good for Hunt's charges.

But things unravelled as Celtic cut through the Amakhosi defence to pull a goal back through Neo Maema in the first half before Victor Letsoalo equalised with a 54th-minute penalty after a clumsy challenge by Siyabonga Ngezana.

For Hunt, there were positives and negatives to take from the match.

"Great performance again, I thought it was a good performance on Wednesday when we lost 1-0 [against Chippa United at the FNB Stadium]," the former Bidvest Wits and SuperSport United coach told Chiefs media.

"I thought it was a good performance again today. But the old Achilles Heel of our team, you know, is defending.

"I always say you can't win anything without good defending, defending starts from the front."

Goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi as well as both goal scorers, Mashiane and Mathoho, were forced to leave the action after getting injured, another factor Hunt feels may have contributed to the final outcome of the game.

"A bit unfortunate, as I said the whole season, we have been making changes, forced changes, before half time, after half-time," he added.

"In football it sometimes throws you off a little bit. But in saying that, I thought we had the better of the chances, we had more than enough to win the game.

"But you can't come away and score two goals and then draw the game, you should have been defending better, but it is what it is.

"If the players weren't giving everything, that would be a problem. But they're giving everything every week, they're trying and working hard and that's the most important thing in football."