Abrahams selection confusion leaves Sheppard searching for answers

Abrahams, on loan from Stellies, looked to be ready for his second start and to feature in his fifth game for AmaKhosi. However, someone in the technical team or at the club, quickly realised before the game started that his loan clause didn’t allow him to feature against his parent club. 

He was subsequently withdrawn from the squad and replaced by Mdu Shabalala, but Sheppard didn’t want to say much...

"I don't want to comment too much about it because I didn't know too much leading up to it, because we had prepared the game with him."

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It was a frustrating night for Chiefs, who had to come from behind after a Sinoxolo Kwayiba goal and equalised through Shabalala moments later. Chiefs missed a couple of chances in this game, and Sheppard appeared concerned about how they failed to capitalise on them.

"I think we controlled the early parts of the game with our possession and created some moments in the pockets, but as the game went on we lost control a bit. We were too inconsistent with our performance."

There was widespread concern about how Chiefs approached last night’s game, starting with six players with a defensive profile. On top of the back three, with two wingbacks, they also had Reeve Frosler in a defensive midfield role. 

This limited Chiefs’ offensive chances, but Sheppard tried to explain that injuries in their set-up gave them no option but to approach the game like this.

"The reason for the lineup was to cater for the injuries and guys that are coming back after a long-term injury. For example, we worked with Reeve Frosler in that midfield position during pre-season as one of our alternative options. We wanted to control key areas and use our wingbacks to get in behind them but we didn't anticipate Stellies to shape up the way they did. You may say we went defensive tonight but if you can play with high wingbacks then the 3-5-2 shape becomes very attacking."

With Chiefs drawing their fifth game in their first eight matches of the season last night, they have continued to drop further behind the top three, as Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates and AmaZulu won their matches last night. 

They are now nine points behind Sundowns with a game in hand, eight points behind Pirates and five behind AmaZulu on the same number of games. Sheppard was at pains trying to explain why they are struggling to convert draws into three points.

With Chiefs missing a number of key players, especially in the midfield, like Lebohang Maboe, Siphesihle Ndlovu and Adolf Mtansingwa, their depth was really tested last night, but Sheppard feels that with all the challenges they have, their squad depth was not the main issue, even though it was evident in the game...