Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela defended his early second half substitutions during Kaizer Chiefs’ 0-0 draw with AmaZulu at the FNB Stadium on Saturday.
Komphela introduced Hendrick Ekstein for Wiseman Meyiwa within just three minutes after the half-time break before replacing Bernard Parker with Ryan Moon in the 52nd minute.
Explaining why he made the changes early in the second half, as opposed to during the half-time break, Komphela explained: “It’s normal in a game where you say players must get ready physically and prepare mentally, perhaps using time to point at what it is that you’re wanting to rectify,” as quoted by KickOff.
“One of the messages to Pule was that, ‘Check the situation with [Butholezwe] Ncube and [Siyethemba] Mnguni, in relation to [Ovidy] Karuru.’
“When [Willard] Katsande was closer to Karuru, the equation in the midfield became a two-vs-two with ‘Shabba’ [Siphiwe Tshabalala] and Meyiwa.
“So I said to Pule, ‘Observe that. When you go in, try to push higher so that we have confrontation on Mnguni and Ncube. Don’t worry much about being alongside Katsande.’
“Those are moments that you choose. On the bench, we do communicate and pass on information and, before a player goes on the field, you say, ‘Can you see that?’ Once he says, ‘Okay’, that’s how we solve it.”
Komphela claimed that as a result of his substitutions, Amakhosi put on an improved attacking display in the second half.
“Those things consistently happen in football matches. Coaches change within 20 minutes. It’s tactical; sometimes it’s a forced change, but, for us, we wanted to affect the game.
“Did we affect the game? For sure, there were two different kind of games. In the first half, AmaZulu defended well. Second half, we made it difficult for them to defend well.”
Chiefs will return to league action on 4 April, when they visit Free State Stars at Goble Park.
