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Kaizer Chiefs acting coach Cavin Johnson reacted with surprise to the missiles pelted onto the pitch during the 180th Soweto Derby against Orlando Pirates at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
Various objects were thrown from the grandstand just behind the Chiefs bench as police entered the pitch and were forced to form a barricade behind the technical team and players.
However, rather than aimed at the coach, it was understood this was desperate and angry Chiefs fans reacting to a Pirates ball boy withholding the ball and delaying the resumption of play while Amakhosi were trailing 3-2 in the second half.
"Were they throwing stuff on the field? Ay, gents, I didn't see hey. You know, when you lose a game of this magnitude, you just worry about – I didn't see, did they throw stuff? No, I didn't," said Johnson when asked for his reaction.
"I didn't see any [stuff thrown] guys. Maybe I saw one bottle, or two, but I did see police. Maybe, I don't know who were they protecting, me or the players.
"But ja, we want to say thank you to them [supporters] for coming out, [but] don't throw stones guys, it doesn't work."
Chiefs have faced several sanctions from PSL Disciplinary Committee this season, including a R1 million fine as well as having to play one match behind closed doors due to similar behaviour from the fans, which prompted former coach Molefi Ntseki’s sacking in October last year.
There was a feeling that Johnson introduced crowd-favourite and teen sensation Mfundo “Obrigado” Vilakazi very late in the game as he entered the fray in stoppage time, but Johnson says the fans will understand why the 18-year-old came in when he did.
"Ja, we almost did it, it was just a bit late. It's a Derby, so that's the way football goes, but the fans – like we say, we agree with them, they will turn, and if the scoreline is on the other hand, they will all be my friends," added the coach.
"So we expect that [criticism], and we have to be big enough to go out and face them, but at the same time we do appreciate the effort that our players put in today.
"I always say that football is made out of moments, and me, as the coach of the team, I look at the moments where we gave Pirates two goals to go home with the three points, and those are the moments we need to see if we can improve our players.
"Otherwise, I thought in a lot of times, we were able to compete a lot better than we've been doing in the past couple of games."
