Chiefs simply weren’t up to it
This is not a fresh debate – Kaizer Chiefs simply do not have BMT, writes Mazola Molefe.
|||Orlando Pirates (0) 2
Ndoro 76, 84
Kaizer Chiefs (0) 0
This is not a fresh debate – Kaizer Chiefs simply do not have BMT.
It’s not just some fancy acronym, but a condition which has slowly made its way into the vocabulary of those who have watched the Amakhosi under Steve Komphela this season.
No big match temperament (BMT) at Naturena. And examples are not too hard to find from the record books over the past six months alone.
The MTN8 and Telkom knock-out finals and two of the five Soweto derbies against rivals Orlando Pirates that they have been involved in during that period, including the one that took a while to spark into life yesterday afternoon.
Is it Komphela? Is it the quality of players?
Whatever it is, reality will settle in at the end of the season when the trophy cabinet at their headquarters remains barren.
Willard Katsande tumbling down all on his own after winning back possession on the hour mark just about summed it up for Chiefs.
A long afternoon, when the Zimbabwean midfielder and his teammates hardly put together a string of decent passes to control this Nedbank Cup last 32 clash against Pirates. It might sound harsh, but the basics of football eluded them.
Just as well that the opposition was equally having an off day – until Tendai Ndoro stepped up to score twice in the second half.
The kind of action on display would not win Amakhosi any cup, and they so desperately needed to go all the way in this equivalent of the FA Cup to get something out of a rollercoaster campaign.
Chiefs were always going to be vulnerable at the back without Lorenzo Gordinho, their star man in rearguard after 11 consecutive matches that were accompanied by two man-of-the match awards and winning goals against Wits and Maritz-burg United in the Premiership.
He was, unfortunately for the Glamour Boys, serving a one-match ban having collected his fourth yellow card last week at home to Polokwane City.
And boy, was he sorely missed, particularly when Pirates striker Ndoro got going.
There was a lot of ball-watching when Mpho Makola played the two-goal hero through for his first, an error Chiefs were unlikely to make at back had Gordinho been on the pitch.
Morgan Gould was also not up to it, and perhaps was picked ahead of Daniel Card-oso and Ivan Bukenya because of his experience. On the fringes because Gordinho’s partnership with Eric Mathoho has worked so well, Gould did not show he was a veteran.
Being knocked out of the cup will hurt Chiefs and their fans this morning, and even more so in May, if they fail to topple Premier League leaders Mamelodi Sundowns to win the championship, which looks highly likely.
What will sting the most when Chiefs look back at their season is the fact that they could not win massive games.
Komphela, if he’s done enough to stick around for the upcoming 2016/17 season, will have to find a solution, and quickly. - Sunday Tribune