Komphela won’t give up title chase

Coach feels he can still rein in Downs

With 10 games remaining in the Absa Premiership title race, Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela feels his team can still make up for their seven points deficit.

Amakhosi fell back further in their chase after playing a 1-1 draw with Bidvest Wits at the weekend.

They are now seven points adrift of leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, who collected maximum points in their 1-0 win over Cape Town City on Friday.

Had they repeated their gallant performance in the goalless draw with Sundowns a fortnight ago Chiefs would have surely run out winners against Wits. But for some reason they held back and allowed the opposition to dictate the tempo of the match.

Komphela is still chasing after his maiden title at Naturena, with the league and Nedbank Cup the two only trophies still on offer.

Chiefs will next face Golden Arrows in the Nedbank Cup last 32 at FNB Stadium on Sunday.

The former Bafana Bafana mentor tried to look on the bright side, saying Sundowns had not wrapped up the title yet.

“It’s seven points, we wanted to make it five points [behind] but now it’s seven points, but it’s okay, but we regret that we did not win this one,” Komphela lamented.

Winning is the only acceptable result at Chiefs and the tactician admitted that their performance at the Bidvest Stadium had not been good enough.

“We have to attack,” he said, “if we want to win championships we have to attack.

“Any match drawn at Chiefs is a loss. We always want three points. I thought we had chances to win but we let them off the hook.”

Curiously, the technical team once again did not start the match with marquee January signings Leonardo Castro and Siphelele Ntshangase but rather opted to give them a run in the second half.

“You are always tempted,” Komphela said.

“When you start Castro do you put Moon out? If you start Ntshangase do you put Siphiwe Tshabalala out?

“It depends on the game itself.”

‘‘ When you go a goal down and when you go a goal up, [always] remain calm

you know.

“When you go a goal down and when you go a goal up, remain calm and keep yourself in a balance; think about the next action and don’t think about the external factors,” he added.

Maritzburg’s next match will be in the Nedbank Cup when they face Swallows at Dobsonville Stadium on Saturday.