Defeat a wake-up call, says Tuchel SA sprinters ready for European season

CHELSEA manager Thomas Tuchel said his side’s 1-0 defeat by Arsenal on Wednesday was their own fault and a “wake-up call” ahead of a huge end to the season.

Tuchel’s side would have all but sealed a Premier League top-four finish with a win, but instead are now looking over their shoulders after a poor performance.

Emile Smith Rowe’s first-half goal settled the London derby after a defensive mix-up by the hosts, in which Jorginho’s wayward back-pass was scrambled off the line by Kepa Arrizabalaga.

But Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang teed up Smith Rowe to score.

“Totally our fault, nobody else’s. We lost, it’s totally our responsibility. We had huge chances. We made an own goal more or less – total gift,” Tuchel said.

“We weren’t on the pitch with the same energy, it wasn’t easy to come up with the intensity and passing. We weren’t sharp enough, and didn’t have the same hunger and attitude as we’re used to playing with. So, it’s on us.

“It was maybe too many changes from the last match, and I take full responsibility for that. Maybe it’s the last wake-up call for all of us.”

With an FA Cup final tomorrow against Leicester City, Tuchel made a number of changes to his starting line-up.

It resulted in only a third defeat in 26 games in all competitions for Tuchel, and left Chelsea in fourth spot in the Premier League with two games to play.

They are six points clear of West Ham United, who have three matches left, and seven ahead of Liverpool with four.

“I felt it a little bit coming in training, and I’m a bit unlucky that it’s proven today on the pitch. I regret ... we could have, we could have, we could have, but we didn’t,” Tuchel said.

“The choices were not so good from my side for the line-up. This is on me. We were unlucky. We can lose in football. We did everything today to lose.

“I’m not happy with my line-up. There were too many changes, and I shouldn’t have done it like this. It was something in particular, but I don’t want to tell you.” | Reuters

WITH the Tokyo Olympic qualifying event around the corner and over a year without competition, South Africa’s premier sprint paddlers Chrisjan Coetzee and Esti Olivier are eager to begin their international season at the first ICF Sprint World Cup in Szeged this weekend.

Olivier will be racing in the 200m and 500m K1 events, while Coetzee will take on the 1 000m and 500m K1 races in a bid to get in some crucial racing before they head to Russia for the Olympic qualifying event next week.

Olympic qualification is the ultimate goal for both of the paddlers, and the primary task for Coetzee is now to secure a spot in the 1 000m K1 starting line-up and for him it’s a big shift from his usual focus on the 200m.

“This is a new challenge for me racing the 1 000m and not the 200m for a last shot at Tokyo qualification,” Coetzee said. “Training has changed quite a bit and this will be the first time in many, many years that I am racing the 1 000m internationally but I am looking forward to it.”

The event this weekend will be a good chance for Coetzee to gauge his form, given that he hasn’t raced internationally since the end of 2019.

“I’ve put in some good preparation and I’m feeling good at the moment, so I’m positive and happy to have this opportunity to race again,” he said.

It's a similar approach for Olivier who is hoping she can find some good form this weekend, with a hard block of racing ahead of her over the next 10 days.

"This weekend is all about seeing how well and how consistent I can be in executing my race plan," Olivier said. "I also want to use it as an opportunity to push my mental limits with regards to how much I can put out physically.

"There will be some tough racing on the cards which will be a great measure before the qualifying event next week in Russia."

President of Canoeing SA Kim Pople is excited to see SA paddlers back on the international stage and knows that they are in safe hands in Europe.

"With the Covid complications regarding international travelling at present, it was a relief to receive messages from both Esti and Chrisjan, that they are safe in Hungary and settling into their accommodation in Szeged," Pople said. | Gameplan