Chiefs were held to a goalless draw by Polokwane City in the Betway Premiership on Saturday, a result that brought their five-game winning run to an end.
With AmaZulu losing 3-0 to Pirates, it is a step closer to CAF Confederation Cup football next season for Chiefs, who are now seven points clear in third place and still have a game in hand.
But while Chiefs had 14 shots at goal against Polokwane City, only four were on target after they had found their scoring boots in recent times with 11 goals in their previous four league games.
“This is not the result we wanted, but playing away from home we knew it was going to be a difficult game,” Maboe said. “We are just going to have to settle for the point. We knew they were going to play their game with those long balls.
“I think we came here well prepared but just didn't create enough opportunities. But at the same time we can't be ungrateful and have to take the point.
“We really had to score in this game, but we didn't. But big respect to my teammates because we fought very hard. We just need to keep demanding more from ourselves.
“There's another big game next week (against Pirates) which we are looking forward to, but for now we have to go home, regroup and see what we didn't do right and rectify those mistakes.”
Chiefs co-coach Cedric Kaze echoed those thoughts.
“I thought we were better in the first half of the game, but we lacked some composure. Instead of taking an extra touch, we were just taking one touch. That showed the game was being played quicker than it should have been,” Kaze said.
“We knew Polokwane City would defend and try to catch us on the transitions with a lot of long balls. By the end of the second half, though, we lost a bit of control of the game and allowed them to gain confidence and get into attacking situations.
“In previous games, our impact players (substitutes) were making a change in the game, but today they didn't. That's something we are going to look at. But it was a good point away from home and now we just have to focus on the next game.”