Another big scary encounter awaits Telkom Knockout runners-up Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday, and coach Steve Komphela admitted he faces yet another tough task to lift the battered morale of his players, who were simply outwitted by their Mamelodi Sundowns counterparts in Wednesday’s cup final at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
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Fresh off a 3-1 hammering in Durban, Amakhosi travel to one of their most bizarre - but probably financially rewarding - alternative home venue in the Cape Town Stadium to host Absa Premiership log leaders Bidvest Wits tomorrow evening.
It’s a match Komphela will obviously be desperate to get a reaction from his men, a trait that proved a bit difficult following their narrow 1-0 defeat to Ajax Cape Town in the MTN8 final in September. Chiefs only managed draws in back to back matches after that failure to launch.
But Wits, starved of football for nearly a month because of the league’s decision not to schedule any fixtures during the CAF Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal, have not been in such fine form for some time. Their attack, led, surprisingly by winger Daine Klate, is a potent one.
“We have to understand that part of our job entails building character and asking how do we come back from these setbacks? It’s not nice, but we still have a lot of work to do,” Komphela said. “And maybe this is where we have to learn how to be stronger, so you start working on the mind set. Even in the dressing room we are being realistic because you can’t lie to players. Be honest and put facts in front of them and still remind them it’s not the end of the world.”
That’s good motivational talk, but the Clever Boys are soaring at the moment, much like Sundowns were ahead of the midweek cup final against Chiefs.
Source : iol.co.za
