Kaizer Chiefs coach Cavin Johnson admits they got punished for not taking their chances in their Soweto derby defeat to arch-rivals Orlando Pirates.

A brace by Monnapule Saleng and a goal from Thabiso Lebitso cancelled out Ashley Du Preez’s brace, which saw Amakhosi fall to a 3-2 defeat at the FNB Stadium on Saturday.

Amakhosi dropped to seventh place in the log standings with 29 points from 20 matches, while Pirates moved up to second place on the log with 33 points from 20 games.

Johnson was left frustrated and criticised his players after they threw away a two-goal lead.

“What a game! You take the lead twice and then you throw away the game in the end but I thought they had their moments and we had our moments, we should not have given them two goals,” Johnson told SuperSport TV after the game.

“I think the two goals they got from us are very soft, the second and third goal is completely out of character for a player that is playing at the highest level in South Africa and we have to win this game.

“We had the game, we had the one point, we had the three points, now we have no points and I think that is something we have to look at, we gotta ask ourselves what are we doing as players on this pitch, because then you got to fight.

“Well done to Orlando Pirates, they take two games against us but ja we have to go back, there’s still a long way to go in the league and we have to fight for the rest of the points.”

He added: “If you look at our combination plays, the way we moved the ball and there were times when we caught them off guard. We were a lot better than them in some moments.

“Yes, they were falling all over the place, that’s the other thing I’ve got to understand, they were falling over the place and started to play long balls but that’s football. Every team has different tactics.

“I thought our tactics on both goals, we did not do what we were supposed to do. We were supposed to press them a lot higher and also clean the ball when it comes to the back, don’t take any chances but we didn’t do that and we got punished,” he concluded.

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