Nurkovic reveals Middendorp half-time dressing-down

Cape Town - Kaizer Chiefs striker Samir Nurkovic has revealed the dressing-down given to the Amakhosi players by a less-than-pleased Ernst Middendorp at half-time of the victory over Bloemfontein Celtic.

Middendorp was furious with his side's attitude and defensive application, especially in the first half of the 5-3 win over Celtic.

Chiefs let in three goals in and were badly exposed in the first half but rallied back to win the game.

Nurkovic, who scored a hat-trick to spare the Amakhosi's blushes, admits that standards drop sometimes in football and this was the case with the hosts in the first half, but the Serb striker says that they woke up after some stern words from their German tactician.

"It happened, it happens in football that sometimes you have good days, sometimes you have bad days, unlucky for us we had a bad first half, the coach said a lot of things in the dressing room, we woke up and showed our character and fighting spirit, once again win and we're happy," Nurkovic told SuperSport TV.

"What a game! Once again, we showed our character. Okay, (the) first half was not like we expected as we prepared, it was a little bit difficult for us, but we fought like always. We continued with the same fighting spirit. We once again showed our fighting character."

Amakhosi are back in action on Sunday, December 22 as they take on Maritzburg United in an Absa Premiership encounter.

- TeamTalk Media