Tashreeq Morris finally made his first appearance of the season for Kaizer Chiefs — and marked the moment with his first ever goal for the club in a massive victory against Sekhukhune United on Sunday evening.
The 31-year-old striker emerged as the unlikely hero at Peter Mokaba Stadium after coming off the bench late in the second half to break the deadlock in Chiefs’ eventual 2-0 victory. His goal ultimately helped Amakhosi officially secure qualification for next season’s CAF Confederation Cup.
Morris reacted quickest inside the box in the 86th minute after excellent work down the wing by Glody Lilepo before Mfundo Vilakazi later added a second goal from the penalty spot in stoppage time. Speaking after the match, Chiefs co-coach Ben Khalil Youssef revealed the technical team had continued believing in Morris despite the striker spending the entire season waiting for his opportunity.
“I’m always talking to all the players in the team and Morris kept training and we were waiting for the right moment to introduce him and it was today given the importance of this game,” he said.
The Tunisian coach also highlighted the work happening behind the scenes to ensure players outside the starting eleven remain prepared mentally and physically throughout the campaign.
“There are people that are working behind us to prepare every players and players that are not part of the start every week.”
Chiefs entered the encounter heavily weakened with several key players unavailable. Among the absentees were Maboe, suspended midfielder Siphesihle Ndlovu and injured duo Wandile Duba and Mduduzi Shabalala.
“With regards to Maboe, he’s played a lot of games and we decided to rest him for this game, Ndlovu is suspended with four yellow cards and Wandile Duba is still injured as well as Shabalala,” Youssef explained.
Despite the disruptions, Chiefs still produced a composed and disciplined performance in a high-pressure encounter against direct rivals for continental qualification. The result also continued Chiefs’ encouraging upward trajectory after they finished outside the top eight in each of the previous two seasons.
Securing continental qualification with matches still remaining underlined the improvement in consistency, mentality and competitiveness that has slowly developed throughout the current campaign.
The victory lifted Amakhosi onto 51 points and mathematically secured third place in the Betway Premiership standings with two matches remaining.
Chiefs will now conclude their league campaign in Durban, with both remaining fixtures against AmaZulu and Chippa United scheduled to take place at Moses Mabhida Stadium over the next two weeks.
“We try to keep the consistency in the team but injuries and suspensions will force us into making rotations and because we speak with every player, everyone stays ready to come in when called up and fight for the team and the badge,” Youssef added.
