Persistence paid off - Komphela
Persistence paid off - Komphela

Posted in News, Team News on Dec 17, 2017.

“Ajax pushed us to the limit, but at the end of the day they couldn’t keep up with the continued pressure we put on them,” coach Steve Komphela reflected on Saturday’s 1-0 win over Ajax Cape Town. “We kept on knocking and probing in their goal area until our persistence paid off.”

Amakhosi finished 2017 on a high, as they had intended to. A sizeable and enthusiastic crowd guided Komphela and his troops to their first league win at home this season, thanks to Dumsani Zuma's neatly placed strike in the 85th minute.

“We had a number of entries in their final third in the first half,” Komphela continued. “But we went into the break with nothing to show for our efforts.”

The goal was Zuma’s first in Amakhosi’s Gold and Black colours. “It was a beauty,” the Chiefs coach commented, before adding, “Dumsani came on for Kgotso Moleko, whom we had to substitute because of cramping. Kgotso did very well in his first game since his recovery from injury.”

The others two substitutions were Philani Zulu who pulled a muscle and Bernard Parker who suffered a hamstring problem.

“If all your subs are forced, you end up looking a bit unstructured,” said Komphela. ”I’m delighted with the win though - a first win at home makes this a good Christmas present for our supporters.”

Kaizer Chiefs will next face SuperSport United at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday, 6 January.

“It is going to be a matter of periodisation to make sure that the festive holidays won’t affect us,” Komphela concludes, while looking forward to the Matsatsantsa encounter. “We will have a few days off, but we will otherwise be training during the festive season.”

 

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