Golden Arrows head coach Steve Komphela says he’s not going to get angry with his players after his side suffered their joint heaviest defeat in the top flight against Orlando Pirates on Saturday.
The Sea Robbers were in rampant mood against a hapless Arrows outfit as they dished out a dominant 7-1 hammering at the Orlando Stadium.
Pirates striker Tshegofatso Mabasa walked away as the player of the match as his hat-trick helped the Buccaneers beat Arrows by a six-goal margin, the second side to do so after Mamelodi Sundowns overcame Abafana Bes’thende 6-0 in 2022.
Prior to this clash, Komphela had collected seven points from a possible nine since his return to the club a month ago, but was handed a first defeat in charge of Arrows in emphatic fashion by Jose Riveiro’s men.
The KwaZulu-Natal-based outfit enjoyed 43% possession, recording 10 goal attempts, with five of those on target on the night in Soweto. Based on these stats, Komphela feels that an angry reaction towards his players would be unwarranted, because they displayed commitment despite falling heavily short.
The 56-year-old coach said it was important to help his team get over the defeat.
“There are moments where you have to break bottles, when there’s an issue of attitude or complacency,” ” he said afterwards. “But when you see people trying — and mistakes are mistakes, because these are genuine mistakes — your job as a coach is to assist players and try to lead.”
Komphela took over the reins from Mabhuti Khanyeza, who now serves as his assistant alongside Musa Bilankulu, after Arrows had gone on an 11-game losing streak.
The former Sundowns coach has now been entrusted with ensuring the club finishes in the top eight of the DStv Premiership.
Those aspirations took a huge blow against Pirates as the side slipped down into ninth, but Komphela remains confident of his side’s chances. The tactician broke down what he felt was his team’s biggest let down on the night against Pirates
“I’ve only been with this team for less than a month,” he explained.
“I am working with players whom I’ve worked with before. Others we started with together.
“I can’t be too hard on them, but the fact remains they know things we work on and when those things don’t happen, we are all not happy.”
“I thought, with utmost humility, Arrows did play some good football,” he added. “We came out at certain moments. You could see that they were intentional with what they were doing.
“It is what it is. We will go back and work with players again. Whether you scream or break bottles or whatever, it won’t help.”
Abafana Bes’thende will have a full two-week break to recover from this loss as they return to action in a fortnight for what is expected to be a difficult encounter against fellow KZN side Royal AM.