Steve Komphela led the Chiefs to the MTN8 final on Saturday, his first since 2004.
|||Eleven years is a long time to wait for a cup final appearance, but Steve Komphela is the patient type.
And while many a coach would have been frustrated, Komphela was content to bide his time as he guided some of the country’s unfancied sides to decent performances and finishes.
Having long served his apprenticeship, he eventually earned South Africa’s plum coaching job this season, although scepticism abounded – naturally.
Last night, he moved a step closer to silencing those who had felt he was not fit enough to lead the country’s most popular side when he led them to the MTN8 final, his first since 2004.
Back then, Komphela guided lowly Manning Rangers to the Absa Cup final, where his team fell to Gavin Hunt’s Moroka Swallows.
There is a possibility of the two coaches meeting again should Hunt lead Bidvest Wits to victory over Ajax Cape Town in today’s evenly-poised other semi-final.
And how the former South African senior national team skipper would love to get even.
At the rate Chiefs are going, few would bet against Komphela lifting his maiden trophy as a coach.
Granted, he took over a settled team that had just had a highly successful season in winning both the league championship and the self-same MTN8. So his job was not going to be that much difficult.
But very quickly Chiefs are clearly a Komphela team, that Stuart Baxter stamp of a fast paced-game that was big on solid defending and reliant on catching the opposition on the break now gone.
Like he said when he took over, Amakhosi are historically renowned for their attractive brand of play that allows the players to confidently knock the ball about while giving the opposition little space to breathe.
This victory last night was grounded on such a game, with Komphela spending the entire match pacing up and down the technical area like a lioness on the prowl for its prey.
And his team responded the best way they know how, by punishing the opposition at the first opportunity.
When George Lebese scored what turned out to be the match’s only goal three minutes from the break, it had actually been Celtic who had appeared likely to score.
The visitors, who needed to score following the 1-1 first leg draw that meant Chiefs had the advantage of the away goal, took the initiative and attacked from the onset.
And they threatened the Chiefs goal as early as the fifth minute when Thapelo Morena found himself through on goal. But Itumeleng Khune did well to get off his line and his slide tackle stopped the Celtic man in his tracks.
Then Helder Pelembe attempted a shot from long range but could not replicate that stunner he scored in the first leg as his drive went way wide on nine minutes.
Celtic then wasted a glorious chance on 19 minutes, Keegan Buchanan shooting wide in a on-on-one situation with Khune following a fantastic through ball from Musa Nyatama.
The miss was to prove costly, especially with Chiefs, always looking sleek in their build-ups. They had got a corner on 12 minutes from Bernard Parker delivered a curler that evaded the defence and looked headed for goal only for Patrick Tignyemb to smother the ball.
Five minutes later it was Siphelele Mthembu who asked questions of the Celtic defence. The Chiefs striker doing well to evade his markers before delivering a cross that appeared to be blocked by a hand, only for referee Daniel Bennett to wave play on. He had another chance just before halftime to put Chiefs 2-0 up but his blast from the edge of the box brought the best out of Tignyemb who parried the ball out for a corner.
And then Buchanan failed dismally when scoring appeared so much easier.
Lebese then persisted in attack just before the break, sharing it with Mthembu before shooting in from inside the box to beat Tignyemb.
Celtic’s Cameroonian goalkeeper actually helped make the scoreline respectable with some brilliant stops in the second half as Chiefs took the ascendancy – no doubt following yet anther masterful Komphela team talk as has been the case since he took over.
He will have to deliver another one of those on September 19 if he is to capture his maiden trophy as a coach in his second attempt.
from Soccer Soccer Extended RSS http://ift.tt/1EqB4sX
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