Johannesburg - Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela felt his team were too tense in the opening match of the Absa Premiership season, saying their failure to relax lead to their downfall against Bidvest Wits.
Amakhosi were beaten 2-1 at the Bidvest Stadium after goals by Elias Pelembe (34) and Thulani Hlatshwayo (65) set the hosts up for what proved to be a straightforward win. “We need to be calm,” Komphela said.
“We cannot be desperate even in play, and even when defended we looked desperate. We need to be calm. “As a result, we could not even start playing from the back. You could see that any ball, we pushed on and played the ball long.”
Komphela also defended his team selection, saying he felt the players that did duty during pre-season had deserved to be given a chance in their league opener.
“I thought the team had been training extremely well, and it was the same team that played extremely well in the Carling Black Label Cup,” Komphela added.
“I'm sure we had three or four of our members who were not on form, and there is no team that can have that many players not ticking and win a match.”
Chiefs will now turn their attention to an MTN8 clash against Cape Town City FC on Friday.
African News Agency