Kaizer Chiefs coach details how Amakhosi drowned Manchester United

Kaizer Chiefs DStv Diski Challenge coach Dillon Sheppard has opened up on their historic tour of the United Kingdom that saw them secure a victory against Manchester United.

Chiefs were recently in the UK, thanks to winning last season’s DDC title, and played three matches against English sides Man United, Leeds United and Queens Park Rangers’ U21 teams.

The Glamour Boys started with a shock 3-1 win over United before a 1-1 draw with Leeds after which they ended with a goalless draw against QPR.

However, it is that big win over United that has got fans talking and Shepperd has opened up on the tactical setup that drowned the Red Devils, who have some of the highly-rated young players in England.

Sheppard shares success formula against United

“We went from summer to winter conditions and some of our players had never experienced cold, rainy weather every day,” Sheppard told Chiefs’ media team on some of the challenges they had to overcome.

“The pitches and conditions were very different from what they are used to, but after our second session leading into the Manchester United (U21) game one could see that they had adapted and were ready for it.

“In our game against them, we knew we would have to step up our physicality and technical application but after taking a bit of time to settle, we were able to use or speed and skill to get in behind them and came out with a very pleasing 3-1 win.”

Chiefs’ tour of the UK also included a visit to the Premier League headquarters while they also watched Premier League matches involving Leeds and Chelsea as well as against Manchester City.

What else formed part of Chiefs’ UK tour?

“In our downtime, we went to watch Manchester City v Leeds United at the Etihad stadium, where we were warmly welcomed and treated very well. The boys got to see the quality of the Premier League first-hand,” he added.

“We also got the chance to see Leeds host Chelsea at Elland Road and managed to spend some quality time with an absolute legend of both Leeds and Amakhosi, Lucas Radebe, with whom we walked around the pitch pre-match to tremendous applause.

“The following day, we went to the Premier League headquarters where we were hosted by former England goalkeeper, David James, who I had met about 30 years ago at the School of Excellence and he reminded me that he still has a 1994 Kappa Kaizer Chiefs jersey, which was great to hear. The players got to ask him questions and he shared valuable insights of the highs and lows of a career spanning over 800 top flight games.”

Chiefs will be hoping for a fruitful second half of the season to retain their title as they ended the year in fifth position, nine points behind leaders Orlando Pirates, although they have a game in hand.