“We played very well,” reflects coach Steve Komphela about Kaizer Chiefs’ one-all draw against his former side Maritzburg United. “We exploited all areas. We went both central and wide until we got that important goal in the last minute of the match.”

The Absa Premiership match was played at Pietermaritzburg’s Harry Gwala Stadium on Saturday evening.

The home side took the lead in the 20th minute thanks to a penalty, while Amakhosi equalised in the 97th minute, just before the final whistle. Substitute Reneilwe Letsholonyane secured the point with a well-measured shot from inside the box.

“We conceded an early goal,” Komphela adds, “but we kept on pushing, because we knew something would have to give as there was no way they would be able to park the bus for 90 minutes.”

“We want to improve on these draws, because we are sick and tired of them,” the coach comments on Chiefs’ sixth draw of the season. Obviously, he wants to turn these draws into wins. Komphela, however, remains positive about the ability to keep the Absa Premiership title at the Village: “We are still on track to retain the championship, even though we are three points short of our target.”

“The long break may have affected our rhythm a bit,” concludes Komphela about the just finished Fifa-break, while another period of non-domestic soccer lies ahead, due to the Olympic qualifier tournament of South Africa’s Under-23s.

“On the other hand, we welcome it as it will also help us to refresh the team. It gives those who are nursing injuries to recover and be ready for the cup final and our last league match this year.”

Amakhosi’s next game will be the Telkom Knockout final against Mamelodi Sundowns on Wednesday, 16 December. This will be followed by the last home game of the year in an Absa Premiership fixture against Bidvest Wits at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, 19 December (kick-off is at 18:00).

Tickets for this match are already on sale through Computicket, at R60 for adults and R10 for children under the age of 12.