The thread is now really thin for Komphela
JOHANNESBURG: Kaizer Chiefs on Friday won a boardroom battle against former player Siboniso Gaxa, but their PSL title hopes took yet another blow barely a day later when they squandered a lead to suffer a 3-1 defeat to Chippa United in Port Elizabeth.
Gaxa, who joined Wits as a free agent last week, accused Chiefs of doing a U-turn on a binding contract extension between the two parties in October last year.
The club insisted there was no legitimate agreement in place even though there was an official statement on Chiefs’ Twitter account that Gaxa, who won the PSL title twice while at Amakhosi, would stay on.
“Former Kaizer Chiefs defender Siboniso Gaxa’s claim for compensation against the club has been rejected by the NSL’s Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC). The DRC found no grounds supporting the player’s assertion that a binding contract still existed between himself and the club after he was released by Amakhosi in June 2016,” a statement on Chiefs’ website read.
But hardly a day subsequent to that statement, Chiefs could not get their way on the pitch as pressure mounted on beleaguered coach Steve Komphela following defeat to Chippa at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday night, a result which compounded more misery on the club and extended their winless run to eight matches in all competitions.
Chiefs management were mum about Komphela’s future after losing to the Chilli Boys, that ended the Port Elizabeth-based side’s own horrible streak of seven matches without a win.
Komphela has in the past claimed that he enjoys an incredible amount of support from his bosses, but having slipped down to seventh-place on the standings after 12 matches, seven points off the leaders Cape Town City, and increasingly looking off the pace compared to their fellow championship contenders, the coach now seems to be hanging on to his job by the thinnest of threads.
Amakhosi took the lead in the first half through Siphiwe Tshabalala. But it all went pear-shaped in the second half as striker Lerato Manzini grabbed a double either side of Tshwarelo Bereng’s goal to ensure an emphatic victory that also gave their coach Dan Malesela reprieve.
The added pressure for Komphela also comes on the back of ending his maiden season at Chiefs without winning a trophy despite reaching the 2015-16 MTN8 and the Telkom Knockout finals.
It appeared he’d finally got hold of a winning formula when, notwithstanding the wobbly start to the current campaign, Amakhosi managed an eight-game unbeaten run which included five consecutive victories in all competitions until the wheels came off again recently.