Head coach Nasreddine Nabi has explained the surprise substitution of midfielder Mduduzi Shabalala who was one of the better-performing players for Kaizer Chiefs in their 1-0 defeat to Orlando Pirates.
Amakhosi suffered a 1-0 defeat in heartbreaking fashion as Patrick Maswangangyi's added time spot kick ensured The Buccaneers kept all three points in front of a sold-out FNB Stadium on Saturday.
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Amakhosi had gone into the match with a string of injuries, as Ashley du Preez, Wandile Duba and Edson Castillo could play no part in the encounter.
Chiefs supporters though would have been pleased to see Shabalala starting to line up. The 20-year-old has arguably been Chiefs' most productive attacking outlet this season, contributing four goals and two assists.
It was surprising then when the tricky attacker was substituted off in the 60th minute to make way for new signing Glody Lilepo.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Nabi explained that he had taken a risk fielding Shabalala, who had just returned from an injury.
"He is coming from an injury and he's been our best player so far," Nabi said via assistant coach and translator, Cedric Kaze.
"When you play in the derby, you need all your best players to be on the field. Even though he was not 100%, we felt he could give us something for 60 to 70 minutes.
"But when we say he was starting to get fatigued, we took him off in the second half."
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Chiefs will have little time to lick their wounds as their next match comes as early as Tuesday when they take on AmaZulu at FNB Stadium.
Kick-off is at 19:30.