Chiefs playing continental chess as Kaze reveals rotation strategy for Zesco

KAIZER Chiefs' narrow victory over Marumo Gallants on Wednesday night may not have been fluent, but it was rich in substance — the kind of result that speaks to a team learning how to survive demanding moments while juggling competing priorities.

- SMISO MSOMI

For Cedric Kaze, the performance was as much about management as it was about momentum.

Chiefs were forced into rotation, not by choice but by circumstance, and the co-coach was frank about the compromises that come with that territory as the likes of Paseko Mako, Asanele Velebayi and Nkosingiphile Ngcobo got unfamiliar starts.

"Sometimes it's difficult because even when you don't want to make rotation, it becomes a necessity and that's why today (against Gallants) we had to rotate," Kaze said.

That rotation showed at times, particularly in the first half where Chiefs lacked rhythm and cohesion on a notoriously awkward surface.

Gallants pressed, disrupted and made life uncomfortable, but Amakhosi found a way to stay in the contest - a trait that has increasingly defined their season.