Steve stays cool as fans vent their fury

Amakhosi coach won’t thrown in towel yet despite woes

ANOTHER small demonstration of anger from Kaizer Chiefs fans‚ plus a few plastic bottles lobbed at Steve Komphela‚ marked the conclusion of another frustrating game on Tuesday night for the country’s best supported club.

Fans have deserted Chiefs in droves having now gone six matches in a row without a win‚ being held to a 1-1 draw at home at FNB Stadium by high-flying Cape Town City. Amakhosi were down to 10 men for a full hour of the game.

Komphela was again abused as he left the pitch. The coach chose his words carefully after the game as reporters asked him about the “unruly fans”.

“I have to be careful how I answer when you use the word unruly. I don’t want it reported I used that word about the supporters‚” he said first.

“It’s very important to accept the realities of modern life and I’m sure I’m not the first person who there has been made some submissions made about‚ not only in sports but politics too.

“But all I can do is tell you I have a job to do‚ I have a responsibility. If you look at the match against Cape Town City and listen to what Eric Tinkler said afterwards‚ and you go back to [the game before that] against SuperSport and listen to what Stuart Baxter had to say‚ it’s the same story.

“Both were draws. But we should have won both matches‚” Komphela insisted.

Komphela appears to have a short memory‚ because Baxter in fact bemoaned the fact that SuperSport could not beat Chiefs in a 1-1 draw despite having most of the game‚ and not the other way round.

On Tuesday‚ Chiefs took an early lead and had two gilt-edged chances after Michelle Katsvairo’s goal to extend their lead and be comfortably ahead at halftime.

But‚ in the end‚ down to 10 men after Sibusiso Khumalo’s sending-off‚ they were defending furiously to hang onto just one point.

“I can hear what’s happening [among the fans] but I have to be strong because I have a job to do.”

Komphela said he still had the backing of the Motaung family.

“At Naturena there is always support. They understand the challenge we are going through because this club is all about results. I do enjoy that support‚” he said.

Chiefs football manager Bobby Motaung told supporters in Mooi River at the weekend‚ where former Chiefs midfielder Petrus ‘Ten-Ten’ Nzimande was buried‚ that supporters must be patient and Komphela be allowed the same time as predecessors Baxter and Muhsin Ertugral were afforded. And while Cape Town City sit on top of the Premier Soccer League for the first time in their short history their coach was having a hard time raising a smile.

“I need to be a reflection towards my players and I can’t show that I am happy. The fact of the matter is that we are only 11 games into the season and it is not at this stage that you can say you are going to win the league‚” Tinkler said after the game.

“Ask me the same question if we are sitting in the same position with 10 games to go and I’ll be a much happier person than what I am right now. I’m well aware there is still a long‚ long season ahead of us; there is a Christmas break ahead of us and all of that can affect the team.”

The draw ended a seven-match wining streak for City‚ who will play in next weekend’s Telkom Knockout final‚ but the point was enough for the new club to go one above Bidvest Wits and SuperSport United in the standings.

“I would have been happy with a point away against Chiefs if you asked me before the game but looking at the circumstances around the game‚ I’m very‚ very disappointed.

“There are not too many positives I can actually take from our performance. I thought we were very lethargic in the way we started‚ the first 20 minutes we really looked poor.

“Offensively we weren’t creating any combinations; defensively we were giving them way too much space and way too much respect and they were hurting us.

“Our players responded‚ to a degree‚ in the second half but truth to be told‚ I don’t think we deserved more than we got. A draw is probably a true reflection of the game.”

Tinkler’s admission comes despite a legitimate goal having been disallowed when TV replays showed that from Sibusiso Masina’s header the ball had crossed the line before Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune had saved it.

City remain in Johannesburg to prepare for tomorrow’s top-of-the-table outing against Bidvest Wits at Bidvest Stadium. — TMG Sport