Posted in News, Team News on Oct 18, 2017.
“Our teams applied themselves very well. We made our supporters happy, playing some good football.”
Loftus Versfeld Stadium was filled to near full capacity with the capital city being brought to a standstill with the arrival of Amakhosi.
Kick-off was delayed with 20 minutes as a precaution to allow the fans to get smoothly in the stadium.
“This is our birthday gift for the Chairman,” Komphela mentioned, referring Chiefs’ Chairman Kaizer Motaung who turned 73 on Monday. “The Chairman deserved this win as a gesture of our appreciation for his great innings.”
The game started like a house on fire. The Brazilians took the bull by the scruff of the neck in the early exchanges, but, as Komphela highlighted, “We could have scored more in the first half than just the one.”
With Chiefs’ rear guard dominating the injury list, Siyabonga Ngezana stepped in to seize the moment, making his debut. “He has been knocking on the door,” Komphela said. “He has been playing well in our reserve team and putting good shifts in training. Siyabonga fully deserved his Man of the Match award. Congratulations to him.”
Ngezana opened the score in the 50th minute of the entertaining encounter.
"All in all, it was a good performance generally," said Komphela. "In the second half we could have scored one more if we made one or two final passes."
Bernard Parker, meanwhile, scored a magnificent second goal, before Sundowns got one back from the penalty spot.
“I also have to compliment Joseph Molangoane for a fine performance after having missed the past few matches due to illness. At some stage he enjoyed himself so much that he almost got carried away. He won a few one-on-ones and was able to attack as well.
“We know that Sundowns’ coach, Pitso Mosimane, does a lot of analysis. He goes through your players and structures in detail. However, we knew what to do, hence we tweaked our structure.”
“We will happily take this win and look forward to do even better in the next match,” concluded Komphela with an eye on the Soweto Derby that will take place on Saturday. “The 2-1 away win against a top side will boost our confidence going into the next match.”