Amakhosi eased pressure after days of domestic troubles by finding joy in Africa with a heavy win over Tanzanian opposition
Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt can now finally afford to smile after his side thumped Simba SC 4-0 in Saturday’s Caf Champions League quarter-final, first leg match at FNB Stadium.
After enduring days of sorrow in which his team was losing to relegation-threatened teams in the Premier Soccer League, results which dented Chiefs’ top-eight ambitions, Hunt's mood was changed on Saturday.
He was captured on television a couple of times beaming with smiles or laughing, especially after substitute Leonardo Castro’s goal, wich added to Erick Mathoho’s opener and Samir Nurkovic’s brace in sinking Simba.
“Sometimes things do work out you know - that's why I laughed,” said Hunt as per IOL.
“Ten or 15 seconds before that [fourth goal], I said what we need to do, the things we work on and where we need to be without the ball, and then we turned the ball over and we were in the right position so the goal came.
“So, that's why I laughed because that was pretty much [what we wanted]. You don't get that much in football but it was, from an organisational point of view, out of position.
"Because I knew when we turned it over that we would get a situation like that, and it worked out.”
It was the first time for the Soweto giants to win by such a huge margin this season, which Hunt described as the “most testing” as they have been struggling on the domestic front.
Going into the Simba game, Chiefs had not tasted victory in four straight league games and are placed 10th on the table, five points above the relegation zone.
Despite making huge strides towards the Champions League semi-finals, the Chiefs coach declares that personally he will come out of this term stronger.
“This has been the most testing [season] for me personally. It has taken a lot of patience,” Hunt added.
“A lot of endeavor, a lot of work. I know I will come out of this stronger. I am not a coach that speaks a lot, that gloats. I let the record speak for itself. But I know next season I will be stronger that's for sure.”
The Amakhosi tactician also explained why Chiefs have been thriving on the continent while finding it difficult in the PSL as he feels that his players are more suited for Champions League football.
“It is a much slower game [in the Champions League], a much more predictable game. I have always said that the players run faster than the ball in the PSL,” Hunt continued.
“But in the Champions League it's much slower and maybe it suits us a bit better. The group of players that we have here are a little bit more methodical and a bit more direct.”
After centre-back Mathoho grabbed Chiefs’ opener, he is now on three goals and among the top-scorers in this competition this season.
He is also Chiefs’ all-time top-goal scorer in the Champions League with six goals after overtaking Knowledge Musona.