Komphela happy to get points

Chiefs were not required to push hard, which is what they should have been subjected to after a taxing two weeks that saw them drop points against Platinum Stars and Orlando Pirates.

Aesthetically, Chiefs have been pleasing to watch, but beautiful football rarely delivers results.

Komphela was just happy with the fact that they have picked up their first win in three matches, along with being able to see out a game without any hiccups.

There has been the small matter of Chiefs conceding second-half goals after leading for the better part of matches.

“I don’t want to call it an inability. I want to call it a tendency of pulling our foot off the pedal and I’d say it’s something we need to consider,” Komphela said.

“We didn’t start the second half very well but the fact that we scored in the last minute should be complimented because we’ve lost games in the last minute recently.

“It shouldn’t be a theme but our inability to close out a match has been of the highest concern.

“We are results driven and the most important part was that we got the three points.

“There have been games that we’ve drawn unnecessarily and there have been games where I think we should not have lost the match. The delightful part was that we travelled and got all the points.”

Mamelodi Sundowns may be pulling away from the chasing pack after their 3-0 win against Chippa United, but Komphela has not lost hope of catching the log leaders.

The league race has only just passed the halfway mark, which makes Komphela happy because there are difficult hurdles Sundowns need to surmount before they start entertaining thoughts of the title.

Those obstacles include Orlando Pirates, Chiefs, Wits and Black Aces.

Komphela will also be without Erick Mathoho and Reneilwe Letsholonyane for Saturday’s home date with Maritzburg United through suspensions, but that is the least of Komphela’s worries.

“We’ve been in the position where we led for most of the season, only to find ourselves being overhauled and losing by two points,” he said.

“If you look at the fixtures ... Sundowns still need to play Pirates, Wits, Aces and us. Those are all points in-between that need to be picked up but we still need to go through the same programme.

“That tells you that the title race is far from over and there is another 42 points that one still needs to play for.

“With the win here, we’ve got another 39 points to play for ... We just need to keep on pushing and take it one game at a time.

“In terms of losing Mathoho and Letsholonyane, we have enough depth in those positions.”

Golden Arrows coach Clinton Larsen battled to hide his disappointment but the realisation of his team’s unravelling season is growing.

At no stage did they look like containing Chiefs and the first-half performance left him exasperated.

“I thought the first half was an embarrassing performance and we never got going at any stage,” Larsen said.

“We were a completely different team in the second half ... but the first 45 minutes killed us. There is a lot of work that needs to be done.”