At first, Steve Komphela’s response to a question about his tenure so far at Kaizer Chiefs drew awkward laughs as the gathered hacks cracked their skulls trying to figure out the riddle. Then there was a second attempt, re-phrased this time by another journalist, forcing the coach to sum up his time at Naturena five months into the job, and especially following his first Soweto Derby win.
Komphela had allowed his emotions to do the talking during the Telkom Knockout semi-final encounter against Amkhosi’s bitter rivals at FNB on Saturday. The relief at the end, and confirmation of a second successive cup final since his arrival in June, told the story of a man working tirelessly to vindicate his boss, Kaizer Motaung, for hiring him to replace two-time championship-winning coach Stuart Baxter.
“We will not rest until we win a cup for this club,” Komphela said. That was a loaded statement given Chiefs have already been in a cup final, but were beaten to the MTN8 title by Ajax Cape Town in PE two months ago. Komphela’s team have been questioned since, with the biggest argument being that they lack big match temperament.
He understands why his list of critics have grown.
“The ultimate has not yet been achieved. The fact is we have gone into our second successive cup final, but we are still not satisfied. I am still an empty man, fighting and striving to get something,” the coach said.
At the weekend, the win over Pirates was undeserved, Chiefs holding on throughout 120 minutes of play and relying on the lottery of penalties, a 6-5 victory, to book their place in the final. They face Mamelodi Sundowns on December 16 at a venue yet to be announced by the Premier Soccer League.
Komphela was not satisfied with the way the Glamour Boys fared in the derby, even describing the back four as “amateurish” in how they seemed to struggle to keep Pirates strikers Kermit Erasmus and Thamsanqa Gabuza at bay.
In explaining his behaviour, he said: “People thought I had gone mad because my reaction was out of character. But you can’t leave Kermit and Gabuza alone. We had worked on a plan and thought it would finally solve our problems at the back, so when I saw that we lacked discipline, I had to intervene. The make-up of our defence had also changed with Ivan Bukenya going off at half-time because of an injury. That was making us crazy.”
The spotlight now falls on Komphela’s counterpart, Eric Tinkler, who earned the nickname “Toddler” due to the Buccaneers’ poor domestic run. Pirates host Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel on November 21 in the first leg of the CAF Confederations Cup final.
“I have said before that this match should have been played about a month ago. This cup has always been my focus, especially now that we haven’t made it to the Telkom Knockout final,” he said. - The Star