Kaizer Chiefs head coach Nasreddine Nabi has opened up on the performance of young Nkosana Mbuthu against Young Africans.
The Soweto giants suffered a drubbing at the hands of the Tanzanian champions in the city of Roses, having just returned from a pre-season journey in Turkey.
A lot of youngsters such as Samkelo Zwane, Mfundo Vilakazi, Mduduzi Shabalala coupled with some experience played the majority of the match.
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"Firstly, we'd like to congratulate Young Africans for an excellent performance today," Nabi told SuperSport TV.
"We have a young team, they still lack experience, they're learning, we're learning from their mistakes and we're busy building up a strong team hopefully," Nabi told SuperSport TV post-match.
Nkosana Mbuthu caught the attention of many and lasted the full match in the left-back role, with Nabi showing a lot of confidence in the boy despite making a costly error.
"Yes, as you know Mbuthu is a younger player. I'm sure he is a big player in the future. Firstly, I don't have a left-back at this moment and he is left. But it's normal to lose in a friendly game like that.
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"If you don't lose now, it's not an outstanding game to lose. I'm assisting him. I don't push him out because I want to give him confidence, I'm happy for his performance.
"If I take him out, I kill him directly. My responsibility is to protect him, to progress and to improve in the future."