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Cape Town - Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela reveals that he was taken aback by the defeat against Platinum Stars.
Amakhosi were stunned in their second of three Cape Town fixtures after Cavin Johnson introduced Eleazar Rodgers from the substitutes bench.
The striker netted two goals in quick succession to cancel out Camaldine Abraw’s headed goal in the first-half.
“I didn’t see this coming,” Komphela reflected on the 2-1 loss to Stars on Sunday afternoon, before adding that “both teams played good positive soccer.”
Komphela lamented the missed chances, explaining that Chiefs’ video analyst had counted more than ten.
“We need to convert chances,” the coach said on the club’s website.
“There was a lot of excitement in the opponent’s box, but we failed to finish.”
“That’s the difficult aspect of a coach’s job. He can do a lot of things to help the team, but he’s not on the field to put the ball in the net.”
Dikwena’s coach Cavin Johnson was brutally honest looking back at the game. “We stole it,” he admitted.
Amakhosi are still in fourth position, eight points behind Absa Premiership log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.
That might not look good, but history has shown that things can change quickly during a league title race.
For example, Chiefs were 12 points ahead of the Brazilians two seasons ago, before eventually losing the league title by two points.
Komphela explained furthermore as to the reason why Willard Katsande was left out of the matchday squad against Stars in order to ensure that he wouldn’t collect a yellow card ahead of next week’s Soweto Derby.
The Zimbabwean is on three yellows at the moment, which means that another one will result in an automatic suspension.
“Both central midfielders, (Reneilwe) Letsholonyane and Katsande would be suspended if they collected a yellow card,” the coach commented. “I didn’t want to take that risk.”
The Derby will be Orlando Pirates’ home game.
The fixture will take place at the FNB Stadium on Saturday, January 30.
Kick-off is at 15:30.
