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Angry Khune questions players desire to play for Chiefs

Cape Town - Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was candid in showing his true emotions after suffering a 2-1 Telkom Knockout semi-final defeat against Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates.

At a sold-out Moses Mabhida Stadium, the Buccaneers extended their unbeaten run against Amakhosi to eleven games with the last match (October 27) also ending in 2-1 a victory for the Sea Robbers in an Absa Premiership clash.

"As heartbroken as I am, I can feel for these people who came to watch Kaizer Chiefs. We disappointed them again. Things just didn't go our way. We created chances, but we couldn't convert them," Khune said to SuperSportTV on Saturday after the match.

"Our defending... I mean we can't be conceding goals like this. Week in and week out, we make schoolboy errors. We want to work as hard as any other team. It's heart-breaking."

Both sides started tentatively though it would be Pirates who hit the front inside the opening 20 minutes when Thembinkosi Lorch struck home a sensational effort from Vincent Pule's accurate pass.

The advantage did not last long as Leo Castro found the equaliser from Khama Billiat's sweeping pass over the top. Confusion between Happy Jele and Jackson Mabokgwane saw Castro capitalise.

However, Justin Shonga proved to be the hero as his superb strike in the second-half meant the Buccaneers advanced to the final.

"Shonga goes for a bicycle-kick... we have three defenders around him. I mean, we had the numbers but we couldn't clear our lines. Booysen cleared the ball, but we still couldn't make the second clearance. We could have avoided this situation. We communicated. Chiefs faithful deserve better," added Khune.

"We have to look at the performance of the team. If it's not enough, then I will have to look at myself again and tell the bosses that 'maybe I don't deserve to be wearing this badge'. We cannot continue losing to Pirates like this - it's unacceptable, it's not on.

"We have to look at ourselves and say, 'Do we deserve to wear this jersey? Do we deserve to make these people happy?' If not, then we might as well tell Bobby that this badge is too heavy for us, because some of us are giving our all in every match, but it seems like we're all not coming to the party. So, that's why I am saying that we all have to go and look at ourselves as individuals and see what contribution we are bringing to this badge," added Khune. 

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