After Kaizer Chiefs lost 2-0 to Chippa United, Calvin Johnson, Amakhosi’s interim coach, said that despite the disappointing result, the effort by the team was a fitting tribute to their late teammate, defender Luke Fleurs.
Fleurs was shot and killed during a carjacking in Johannesburg on Wednesday night.
The match, which took place in East London for a DStv Premiership fixture, saw Chiefs struggle and ultimately fall to eighth place in the standings.
Johnson opened up about the emotional turmoil the team has faced since the unexpected death of Fleurs last week.
“The mood in the camp has been up and down for the last few days,” he told the media.
“It’s only because in one moment you find out one of your players, one of my children, are gone, and the next moment you have to send your condolences to their family,” he said, FarPost reported.
He said team members spent time with the Fleurs family on Friday before they travelled to East London.
“And the next moment you have to come and discuss with the team what their feelings are. How close they had gotten to Luke,” he said.
“But the players did look like they came through that. I’m not a psychologist. From a football perspective, I can only say that today’s performance and the effort were what Luke would have liked.”
Chiefs’s loss to Chippa United came from missed chances and defensive errors, with Johnson criticising the team’s inability to capitalise on their opportunities in front of goal and their lapses in defence that led to them conceding goals.
Pictured above: Kaizer Chiefs during their defeat to Chippa United.
Image source: Kaizer Chiefs/X
