Komphela On Stopping Sundowns: We Declined The Invitation
Golden Arrows coach Steve Komphela revealed the key to his team’s success in holding Mamelodi Sundowns scoreless.
He explained that Arrows opted not to press Sundowns high, acknowledging their dominance in ball possession in these two sides’ goalless draw at Mpumalanga Stadium on Wednesday.
Komphela emphasized the importance of recognizing Sundowns’ strength: “Given their ball dominance, we had to choose our area of control without leaving gaps. They invite you to press, but that opens lines in your defense, and they’ll exploit them all the way to goal. We needed to be smart and decline the invitation.”
He elaborated on their strategy:
“We must acknowledge that, and you also have to choose the area of dominance without leaving the lines because they invite you to press. So, we declined the invitation.
“Because if they invite you to come and press, you are leaving lines and each line you leave you collapse. “They will collapse you until it gets to the net. So, we needed to be very smart and decline the invite to the press. Predominantly from Ronwen and the center-backs, we literally said, ‘It was 11 vs eight because the center-backs will have the ball.’
“Let Ronwen have it because Ronwen is a player, goal-player. There was a ball that came to him, and we tried to press it, he just came out, he was calm. So, you count him as a player. So, they don’t play 10-v-10 on the field, they have 10-v-11.
“We said those three (Kekana, Lebusa, and Williams) can have it central, which then triggered the tactical innuendos that are occurring in the match.”
The red card to Lebusa played a role in the game’s dynamic. With Khuliso Mudau forced to cover centrally, Arrows gained momentum and created several scoring opportunities, particularly through Lungelo Nguse.
Komphela’s past experience at Sundowns was a partial advantage: “Partly yes,” he admitted.
“You can’t survive in the Premiership if you don’t watch matches, which is why we always say to players watch the game. If you come and ask me about Orlando Pirates (how they play), I must be in position to dissect Orlando Pirates – from Relebihile Mofokeng, the other side, Kabelo Dlamini, their movements, Makhehleni Makhaula and everyone.
“If you don’t have that ability and you are coaching in the Premier League, you will have a problem. You need to understand exactly how these teams operate.”