Komphela encouraged by Shalulile’s form ahead of Chiefs clash

Mamelodi Sundowns senior coach Steve Komphela has praised Peter Shalulile’s return to form following his brace in the 3-0 win over Cape Town City on Wednesday night. The Namibian hitman has struggled for both club and country recently but he seems to have found his groove again.

Before the game against City, his only goal of the campaign came in the 5-0 win against Golden Arrows during the Carling Knockout. The Brazilians will be hoping the 31-year-old striker picks up where he left off against the Citizens when they play Kaizer Chiefs in the quarterfinal at FNB Stadium on Saturday.

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“Historically, Peter had been a great and core member of Mamelodi Sundowns and when you saw him score last night, you felt a sense of relief,” Komphela said about Shalulile’s resurgence during a media briefing on Thursday at the PSL headquarters.

“It’s very important for a striker to be high on confidence and the only thing that brings confidence to a striker are numbers. When they score, they get more confident and it comes at the right time. The fact that he scored two was more of confirmation of the quality that he has and it was not an accident.

The two teams played out to an entertaining Betway Premiership match last month that Sundowns edged 2-1. Amakhosi will head into the grudge match on the back of a hard-fought 2-2 draw against minnows Magesi FC. Although Komphela kept his cards close to his chest, he acknowledged Chiefs’ new-found belief under Nasreddine Nabi.

“I don’t think it will be very professional of me to come here and do an assessment of our opponents but they do have their strengths and weaknesses. There has been a significant element of belief, positiveness, there’s an aura and energy that you feel. That energy comes from results they have acquired and how they see things unfolding,” the eloquent Komphela concluded.

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“They have hope that this thing is going to click and it’s good to see that because when that happens, it puts everyone under pressure and all the teams in the league who wish to be in the top spot will buckle up and say ‘these people are coming’ it is more of everybody pushing but indeed you feel them and we felt them FNB.”