Chicken Inn coach, Rahman Gumbo, has blamed complacency and lamented lost chances in their 1-0 premier league win over Yadah FC away at the National Sports Stadium in Harare.
Chicken Inn missed a host of clear-cut chances in the opening stages of the match and never recovered from a growing Yadah resolve until the immensely extravagant Rahman Gumbo side won the match courtesy of an Innocent Mucheneka strike two minutes into second half extra time.
Addressing journalists after the match, Gumbo blamed complacency in his troops as the reason why they failed to register an emphatic win against the premier league new comers.
“. . . we could have scored even in the first minute of the game. Three goals in the first half could have been possible, but [we failed] because of the complacency in the side. That’s what let us down,” he said.
“. . . from my point of view, my players were a bit complacent, they were underrating Yadah because of what happened last week.
“It’s normal in football, that if the players see a team lose by more goals than expected it gets into them, to underrate. But [it’s] a good result for us on the road.”
Gumbu refused to say that the match was almost over and that the two teams were all about settling for a point when the visitors found the net just before the final whistle.
“What you don’t understand about football is that it’s not over until it’s over. If you look at how we play normally, on the way, we grab a result. It’s now three away games and we have won 1-0. We grind a result. We really believe in ourselves that we can go up to the last minute.
“But today, to be quite frank, I think Yadah were an improved side. They played differently from what I saw last week when they played in Bulawayo,” he added.
He also said that Chicken Inn’s rhythm had been affected by the absence of more than half the team due to injury.
“Look at it, we have seven regular players who are out injured. And the guys who played today who are playing for the first time and it’s hard to get a good rhythm going on. It happens in football that if you get new players in the side, for them to adjust it will take a bit of time. Maybe it will take a bit of time for them to adjust. But Swe’ll go back to our usual carpet football,” he said.
