Mother of all Battles for pained Komphela
OF ALL the coaches taking part in the MTN8, Steve Komphela is the one who desperately needs success in the competition.
A losing finalist last season, Komphela enters this year’s edition on the back of a poor display in a 2-1 defeat to Bidvest Wits in the league on Tuesday.
Amakhosi did not look confident at all in the game, so Komphela has to pick his players up for the tricky battle against a Cape Town City side still on a high after their 2-0 victory over Polokwane City on Tuesday.
They play at Cape Town Stadium today (8pm).
“The beauty of having two matches in a week is that you can bounce back, whilst you are still angry (from defeat). But if you don’t win, then it knocks your confidence,” said Komphela, who could include more of his new signings after leaving seven of them out against Wits.
Komphela admitted he was surprised to see Wits coach Gavin Hunt playing Thabang Monare and Xola Mlambo in central midfield on Tuesday. He is expecting more surprises against City, who are a closed book to many teams in the PSL at the moment.
“The beginning of the season is very difficult because you do not know much about these opponents. It was the same with Bidvest Wits. We will face a Cape Town City that we know as Black Aces, but they have made a lot of changes.
“We need to impose our game plan. We need to play as a team. This team has players who can play, so we must play. There are things we did wrong (against Wits) and need to rectify. An opportunity is Friday. Go there, win the match and everything will be okay.”
Amakhosi arrived in the Mother City yesterday and they’ll face a group of players who believe they can go all the way and win the competition.
“To be a champion in the MTN8 you only need to win four games,” said City vice-captain Vincent Kobola.
“We have the players and we have the character. We are a new team on the block and we want to make history.”