Khune must earn his salary – Komphela
Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela said although he was worried about his defence, it was good that goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune can bail them out whenever needed.
Itumeleng Khune, captain of Kaizer Chiefs celebrates a goal (Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix)
Khune was again named Man-of-the-Match after a starring display as Amakhosi got rid of Golden Arrows by beating them 3-0 in a Nedbank Cup match at FNB Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
“Let me whisper this answer so that he (Khune) doesn’t hear… he must earn his salary,” said Komphela jokingly.
“He is top quality, that’s what he is. He pulls unbelievable saves. If you have a top keeper you have confidence when defending. You can never do everything perfect in football and when we make mistakes the one at the back must come through and its god to see that he does.
“We do have to polish our defending though,” added the 50-year-old mentor.
Komphela also said he was happy with Siphelele Ntshangase and Leonardo Castro’s contributions as the duo made their first starts for Amakhosi.
Ntshangase was frustrated by the Arrows midfield and had to be replaced early in the second half with Pule Ekstein coming on in his place. Castro was also replaced by Bernard Parker.
“They gave a good account of themselves we could see the amount of work Castro did and the number of attempts Ntshangase made,” said Komphela.
“Castro was not playing at his previous team but he is getting there in terms of fitness. Same story with Ntshangase. We knew starting with them that there was a possibility they would not finish the match and we had our ducks lined up properly.
“It is a different story when they come on as subs because the opponent might have depleted their energy and they would cope and make a meaningful contribution. I hope that very soon they will be able to play for the full 90 minutes.”
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