Arrows urged to stay sharp

Lamontville Golden Arrows coach Steve Komphela has warned his charges to guard against allowing home advantage to lull them into a false sense of security when they host TS Galaxy in the semifinals of the Nedbank Cup on Saturday afternoon.

“First‚ we must acknowledge the strength of Galaxy and be careful that playing at home gives us a false sense of hope‚” he said ahead of the tie.

“We’ve played away in the first round.

“We played Takastad‚ we played Witbank Spurs and we played Bloemfontein Celtic‚ and we came through.

“Now we are playing at home. The biggest thing would be complacency because we are playing a team from the NFD.

“We have to be careful about that,” he said.

“We have to prepare properly but it will be more about the mental. And we as coaches have to set the tone‚” he added.

“The respect we give to the process as a coach will magnify the importance of this game and ensure that the players give the requisite respect as well.

“That’s why we have to give the best of our ability‚ perform well in the match and‚ God willing‚ go to the final.”

If they do so Arrows will play in Durban too against either Chippa United or Kaizer Chiefs‚ who play their semifinal in Port Elizabeth later on Saturday.

Arrows must do without key midfielder Danny Phiri who has been suspended after being booked for a fourth time this season in last Sunday’s Durban derby against AmaZulu.

Komphela has been to three previous finals as a coach but lost them all and will be seeking the first coaching prize of his career.

Playing at home. Biggest thing is complacency