Paez comes to the fore in Cup
STROLL: KOMPHELA’S CHIEFS HARDLY RAISE A SWEAT
New man silences all the doubters with polished display.
Gustavo Paez finally delivered on his potential on Saturday night when he helped Kaizer Chiefs beat Stellenbosch FC 3-0 and move to the next stage of the Nedbank Cup.
The Venezuelan-born forward was influential in two of Amakhosi’s goals, first providing an assist for Joseph Molangoane to open the scoring, and adding his own name on the scoresheet when he rounded the keeper for the third.
Club veteran and former captain Siphiwe Tshabalala scored the second as Amakhosi looked to put to bed their bad history against lower division teams in this competition.
Paez was understandably happy with his contribution but modestly said it was all down to teamwork.
“I am happy for myself and the team,” he said in a post-match interview. “We want to win this cup,” he added.
Chiefs have not won any silverware in the past two seasons, and with their chances in the Absa Premiership not so great, the Ke Yona Cup looks like their last hope to avoid three consecutive barren years.
The Glamour Boys are known as cup kings in local football and should this term end trophy-less as well, pressure is bound to mount on the club’s management and calls for a change in the technical team might rise again.
Paez is one of the players coach Steve Komphela will rely on to change their fortunes. The 26-year-old forward was Komphela’s only signing in the summer break, much to the supporters’ dissatisfaction as they felt the team needed an experienced goalpoacher.
Paez’s scoring record leaves much to be desired, but his touches since joining Amakhosi had been promising and Komphela has previously said a goal could enhance his confidence.
“I feel confident and I am very happy that I scored today. We were in control of the match. This is for the team.
“We won it together. My teammates helped me to score and this result is very important,” said Paez.
Stellenbosch’s Sammy Troughton felt the score was a bit harsh, saying his side had played well and deserved better results.
“But if you lose in a cup match, nobody really remembers your performance. I think the result was a bit rough on us. We gave them some competition,” he said.