A Kaizer Chiefs defence that has shown frailties so far this season has also been questioned by new boy Siyanda Xulu‚ Amakhosi coach Steve Komphela has revealed.
Following their 1-1 stalemate in the first-leg of the MTN8 on Sunday‚ Komphela said Xulu had expressed concerns about having different partners at centreback since his arrival at the club‚ a set-up which he believed did not help stabilise the back four.
Last season’s stingiest defence after conceding just 15 goals in all domestic competitions‚ Chiefs have not given their fans a peaceful night’s sleep early on in this campaign.
They’ve been breached four times already in their three official matches under Komphela‚ including a come-from-behind 5-3 win over Maritzburg United in an MTN8 quarterfinal clash.
"Xulu had been changing partners and at some stage he came to me and Doc and said ‘gentlemen‚ I have been changing partners like I don’t know what‚ playing with this one and that one’. Maybe when there’s consistency it gets better‚" the coach explained.
"Sometimes you don’t have a choice but to stick with what you have and for now‚ Xulu and Eric Mathoho are doing a job for us. In our team talk we also made mention of the importance of the central pairing.
"I remember during pre-season we had Xulu and Lorenzo Gordinho because Morgan Gould‚ Mathoho and Daniel Cardoso were all out. These guys are no machines. Any player who comes back from a lengthy lay-off shows in match fitness."
Komphela‚ himself a former defender during his playing days‚ suggested it was only a matter of time before restoring the Amakhosi rearguard‚ which is without ever-present Tefu Mashamaite this season after he moved to BK Hacken in Sweden.
Gould and Cardoso are also some distance from their recovery.
The coach said: "It is only fair to admit that any team that has to win any knockout competition‚ has to lessen the number of goals they concede. And the fact that when Chiefs went on to win it‚ they won it without having conceded. That’s great inspiration. I don’t want to say we are shaky‚ maybe we are not as cohesive."
But it is not all gloomy‚ Komphela added. He has been trying to give striker David Zulu and Siphelele Mthembu an equal opportunity to prove they can play alongside Bernard Parker.
"I think Siphelele played very well and the confidence from Zulu was a notch higher. So you trying to get all the strikers confident enough and when that happens‚ it will trigger the right technical application to score. We still have Ndulula. We will work on in it‚ that’s what we get paid for‚" he said.
Komphela: A matter of time before Amakhosi rearguard restored
Following their 1-1 stalemate in the first-leg of the MTN8 on Sunday‚ Komphela said Xulu had expressed concerns about having different partners at centreback since his arrival at the club‚ a set-up which he believed did not help stabilise the back four.
Last season’s stingiest defence after conceding just 15 goals in all domestic competitions‚ Chiefs have not given their fans a peaceful night’s sleep early on in this campaign.
They’ve been breached four times already in their three official matches under Komphela‚ including a come-from-behind 5-3 win over Maritzburg United in an MTN8 quarterfinal clash.
"Xulu had been changing partners and at some stage he came to me and Doc and said ‘gentlemen‚ I have been changing partners like I don’t know what‚ playing with this one and that one’. Maybe when there’s consistency it gets better‚" the coach explained.
"Sometimes you don’t have a choice but to stick with what you have and for now‚ Xulu and Eric Mathoho are doing a job for us. In our team talk we also made mention of the importance of the central pairing.
"I remember during pre-season we had Xulu and Lorenzo Gordinho because Morgan Gould‚ Mathoho and Daniel Cardoso were all out. These guys are no machines. Any player who comes back from a lengthy lay-off shows in match fitness."
Komphela‚ himself a former defender during his playing days‚ suggested it was only a matter of time before restoring the Amakhosi rearguard‚ which is without ever-present Tefu Mashamaite this season after he moved to BK Hacken in Sweden.
Gould and Cardoso are also some distance from their recovery.
The coach said: "It is only fair to admit that any team that has to win any knockout competition‚ has to lessen the number of goals they concede. And the fact that when Chiefs went on to win it‚ they won it without having conceded. That’s great inspiration. I don’t want to say we are shaky‚ maybe we are not as cohesive."
But it is not all gloomy‚ Komphela added. He has been trying to give striker David Zulu and Siphelele Mthembu an equal opportunity to prove they can play alongside Bernard Parker.
"I think Siphelele played very well and the confidence from Zulu was a notch higher. So you trying to get all the strikers confident enough and when that happens‚ it will trigger the right technical application to score. We still have Ndulula. We will work on in it‚ that’s what we get paid for‚" he said.
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