Chiefs need the ‘right balance between composed and sharp’, says Parker
THE experience Bernard Parker has gained in a 13-year-long professional career has taught him to be selfless, a skill he believes will help Kaizer Chiefs end their two-year barren run.
Among the reasons why Amakhosi haven’t won a trophy under coach Steve Komphela is that the club’s strikers haven’t been ruthless enough, which is made worse by their defence losing concentration at key moments.
Chiefs have failed to at least reach 40 goals in the past two seasons in the league, and the Soweto giant lacks a dominant strikeforce that sends shivers down the spines of opposition defenders. Parker and Gustavo Paez have shown glimpses that they can do that with their understanding and ability to feed off each other, and the pair will look to trouble SuperSport United tonight at FNB Stadium in Chiefs’ quest for their first win this campaign.
“I’ve matured a lot in my game in terms of seeing things,” Parker said. “I see a lot of things in the final third. If someone is in a better position, I pass him to score. In the Soweto Derby in the league I created Joseph Molangoane’s goal. I played the ball to Paez who was in a better position in the Carling Black Label Cup. If I have the opportunity to take the chance, then I will. The weight is on us who are upfront to come up with the goals and for Shabba (Siphiwe Tshabalala) to also score.”
Parker continued, “We need to share the responsibility upfront and lead by example in terms of being selfless in the last third by making sure that the ball hits the back of the net, and it doesn’t matter who scores. I and Paez, we do a lot. We keep defenders on the back foot. We just need the wingers to quickly join the attack because when Paez goes wide I enter the box and vice-versa.”
The pair did that well in the win over Orlando Pirates in a pre-season friendly. Amakhosi didn’t have a traditional centre-forward in that match, with Parker and Paez swapping and fulfilling the role, keeping the Buccaneers’ defence busy as the two have different skills set. The 31-yearold Parker plays with more intelligence, creating space with his composure inside the box, while the Venezuelan Paez uses his explosive pace and intelligent runs to beat defenders.
While they are trying to master this art, SuperSport have perfect it with the deadliest attacking trio in the country in Thabo Mnyamane, Bradley Grobler and Jeremy Brockie.
“Our combination upfront is looking better,” Parker said. “We are gelling well together, especially with me and Paez. If we can get Shabba back to his best, I think we would have more power.
“People say that we need to be calm inside the box. But you are calm and they close you down. They say we need to be sharper. You do that, then you rush your decision.
“We need to find the right balance between being composed and sharp. That balance will come automatically if we are confident, believe in ourselves and the spirit is there. Maybe we need to bring 10 percent more in our compactness, add 10 percent to our discipline in our defence and be more ruthless in our attack.”