Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter has revealed why he deployed Njabulo Ngcobo as a defensive midfielder in the draw with AmaZulu on Saturday.
Ngcobo, a central defender, was utilised in an anchorman role and Baxter said it was to allow his fellow central midfielders Cole Alexander and Phathutshedzo Nange more freedom to get forward.
The Amakhosi boss also explained why he left out Daniel Cardoso and went for Austin Dube instead to partner Erick Mathoho in the heart of defence.
“I have to say that (Austin) Dube has been very good at training and we wanted to go back to a 4-3-3, and as a defensive midfield player we wanted to use Cole (Alexander) the way we didn’t use him in the last game,” said Baxter.
“So we wanted to use Njabulo (in a defensive midfield role) and it was new for him and he did OK. He took too many touches at times and was playing more like a playmaker than a destructive midfield player.
“But at times he showed that he’s got qualities in that role and he released Cole and (Phathutshedzo) Nange to get higher, into the box. So we did get more bodies into the box, which is something we spoke about after our last game.
“So when the crosses were coming in we managed to get in on the end of some of them, and when we were attacking we could have combinations because we had the whole group of players. We had the same front three (Keagan Dolly, Bernard Parker and Khama Billiat) and we had Reeve (Frosler) playing left-back.
“I think (Njabulo) Blom is playing really well at the moment … the best full back in the country at the moment.
“Reeve, who has also got a great engine, could be released a little, knowing that we have got Njabulo (Ngcobo), who is sitting in that defensive role and giving us cover.
“For a long period it worked very nicely. But you can’t lose the ball and give it to the opponents in big transitions when you’re chasing a game, because that leads to a counterattack, and if they lose all those counterattacks, then it would probably be game over.
“But we needed to take a risk and I think the boys, by and large, did a decent job.”
