Amakhosi and Orlando Pirates played to a 0-0 stalemate in their Absa Premiership meeting at FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon, as both sides came close with efforts against the frame of goal.
Komphela could not deny that the way Micho Sredojevic’s side lined up caught them off guard in the first half, and felt they adjusted well after he made a few tweaks during half-time.
“The reason Pirates managed to dominate in the first half was how they set up. They had [Thabiso] Kutumela as the leading striker and the man supporting him – [Mpho] Makola – played just in front of our midfielders,” explained Komphela.
“They overloaded as well with [Thabo] Rakhale and [Thabo] Qalinge, and by virtue of such a setup they obviously dominated. I thought we had to be very patient and disciplined not to allow them beyond our bands of defense.
“Here and there they did threaten, and I thought we could have done better upon regaining possession. In any counter-attacking game there are three steps – cut the ball, stabilise and then you can be on a counter.
“Our stabilising pass was not proper, and even our diagonal passes were not coming through and that left [Bernard] Parker more isolated, which was the reason [he was not effective].
“At half-time we had to manipulate the structure by bringing Pule Ekstein and ‘Shabba’ [Siphiwe Tshabalala] next to Parker, and you saw immediately there was change when the game got a bit better and we got more possession.
“In terms of chances I thought we created enough, even in the first half we hit the upright – Siya Ngezana, I thought he could have scored. We then had to pull him out due to cramps.”
With the result on the day perhaps not the desired one, Komphela felt the three points added from the 2-1 win over Sundowns in midweek made it a satisfactory outcome from a difficult week for his side.
“In my opinion I thought, ‘A point, Steve, will you take it?' In as much as it is said that we have not yet won a game at home this season, I would say, ‘It’s okay, let’s take it,’” he added.
“You take it, but you’re not completely satisfied. Three [points vs Sundowns] plus one [point vs Pirates] equals four – four out of six is a pass mark.”