“It is more than recoverable. We have the experience of having had a 12-point lead and we went on to lose the championship by two points,” Komphela said.
“But we are nowhere near that stage . . . There is still a lot of ground to cover. However . . . you’ve got to play for now.”
Speaking after Sunday’s 2-1 loss at the Cape Town Stadium to Platinum Stars, who scored twice in the final stages through Eleazar Rodgers to jump up to fifth in the PSL standings, the Chiefs coach said: “We should have taken this one because we don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow.
“It’s important to collect as many points in any matches as you come across.”
But he did admit an eight-point deficit meant more pressure, particularly with the derby against Orlando Pirates at Soccer City on the horizon on Saturday.
“We will feel the eight points and it will create more pressure which is what football is all about. The excitement of being constantly under pressure. That’s the beauty of the game.”
Chiefs sit fourth on the log with 25 points after Sunday’s loss. Their only previous league setback of the season was against Pirates at the end of October.
“We didn’t see the loss against Stars coming. It was an entertaining game – both teams played good football – but we now need to start positive again after the loss,” Komphela said.
“We didn’t take our chances. We missed more than 10 goal scoring chances. That doesn’t feel nice. All our attacks came to nothing.
“We now have to work on the mindset of the players when they get into the final third. We need to learn to convert our chances in the final third.”
Meanwhile, Platinum Stars coach Cavin Johnson was candid about his side’s last-gasp heist as they ended a five-match winless streak. “I think we stole it against Kaizer Chiefs, the biggest brand in football in the country,” Johnson said.
“Both teams played well in the first half; we weren’t as good as in the second. They had our backs to the wall and when they come at you like that you have to make some changes.
“Luck also plays a big role in football. You make the correct changes, the players sitting on the bench are reading the game in the right way and you bring them on and you win.”
Substitute Eleazar Rodgers came on for Bonginkosi Ntuli, who struck the Chiefs woodwork twice, and netted both goals, first from a counterattack and the second with a rebound from a free kick.
“We burgled it but we are happy to go home with the three points,” Johnson said.
