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Cape Town - Former Kaizer Chiefs defender David Kannemeyer has come out in defence of Daniel Cardoso after the Amakhosi centre-back's poor performance in the 2-1 Telkom Knockout defeat to Maritzburg United at the Mbombela Stadium on Sunday.
Cardoso had a shocker throughout, making a string of errors, most notably gifting Judas Moseamedi the first of his two goals. The 31-year-old bore the brunt of the Amakhosi faithful's criticism in the aftermath but Kannemeyer believes it is unfair to make the player a scapegoat.
"I don't think it's just Cardoso, you know how cup games go, it's who wants it the most and unfortunately Maritzburg wanted it more and that's it, Kannemeyer told KickOff.
"I hate to say this all the time but people must stop pointing fingers at one player. One player can't make the team and make the team win. I mean there were opportunities created and they never took it. It's just that Moseamedi took his chances and that's it, game over.
"And remember he had more chances but he was clinical with that two and that's game over. Now I hate it when people start pointing fingers at one player... Cardoso isn't Kaizer Chiefs, it's simple as that. There's ten other players on the pitch that also play you know, so why blame one player?
"Ja it happens in football hey, and in all fairness I think he will never forget that mistake. He didn't mean to make the mistake but it happens to the best in the world."
When asked if he felt that conceding the first goal killed Cardoso's confidence, Kannemeyer replied:
"Ja I think so hey, and the problem is people are easy to blame. They forget the good games that he played. So now it's all bad, it's all him you know. And that's the bad part in South Africa, we always look at one particular moment, and unfortunately it's like that.
"That's why I'm saying I disagree with people blaming... yes he made the mistake fair enough but is he Kaizer Chiefs? No he's not.
"I will make this example, they play [Lorenzo] Gordinho and what if Gordinho makes the same mistake, what was it going to be? Maritzburg at the end of the day played well, and you have to give them the credit. I think coach Tinkler's tactics were spot on.
"Remember I think last week or before he brought Moseamedi on. This time around he started him. Now he just proves his point that he needs to start every week.
"But I think coach Tinkler knows him very well, because I also coached him at [Mpumalanga Black] Aces. Ja he will miss 110 chances but he will score... that's how I know him. And he's a very aggressive striker and I like him very much, so I think Eric Tinkler's tactics worked perfectly."
Kannemeyer believes the game was won and lost in midfield and that the Team of Choice engine room fired on more cylinders.
"I think they got outplayed in midfield hey, [Daylon] Claasen and [Keagan] Buchanan in there I think they were more mobile, they could break up everything," Kannemeyer explained.
"I think collectively there was too much space in between midfield and defence for Chiefs, because Maritzburg could play straight through the middle and normally [Willard] Katsande is the pillar there in midfield.
"I think because of the movement in midfield for Maritzburg, that played a big role, it worked for them."
- TeamTalk Media
