Durban City versus Chippa United wasn’t football, but fight—Hunt

Durban City FC coach Gavin Hunt has described their game against Chippa United on Wednesday as a typical fight.

The four-time league winner was reacting to his Betway Premiership rookies’ 1-0 victory over Chippa to move to the top of the table.

Hunt told SuperSport Television that his side struggled to contain Chippa due to their aggression. “It was a fight you do not expect from Chippa with the way they want to play,” the coach explained.

“It was a fight. It was a battle, a real second-ball battle knocking long balls all the time. We had to take care of that as they were closing us down all the time.”

The former SuperSport United mentor then praised his Chippa counterpart, Sinethemba Badela, for instilling in the Port Elizabeth-based side fighting spirit.

“You have to give them credit,” the ex-BidVest Wits boss added. “With the way they played, it was difficult to handle and we handled it well a bit. We just didn’t have the final pass round the box because of their aggressiveness. Fair-play to them. You have to give credit. They came here away from home and they battled us.”

The former Kaizer Chiefs gaffer then revealed what he told his players at half-time with the game then goalless.

Hunt explained: “I said to them at half-time. ‘It is not a football match. It is a fight.’ If you win this fight, it will fall for us and get the chances.

“Every football match is not going to be like that. It was a physical fight. There was a real battle. They got stuck into us and we could not move. It shows another side of the team.”

City’s back-to-back wins have taken them to the Betway Premiership summit joining Kaizer Chiefs.