Bittersweet start for Chilli Boys, says coach

Chippa United’s start to the season has been bittersweet, according to coach Dan Malesela. The Port Elizabeth side are sixth on the log after collecting seven points from three games. Chippa have not lost a single league game so far. They have two wins over Free State Stars and Baroka FC – and a draw against SuperSport United. Their most recent result is a 4-1 away win against PSL rookies Baroka. Malesela – the mastermind behind Chippa’s sixth place finish last season, and the team’s impressive style of football – said losing the MTN8 semifinal had been the bitter part of the season so far and the sweet, their unbeaten league run. He expressed his satisfaction with Chippa’s backline, but said the front needed more work as many goal-scoring chances had been missed. “The start of the season, for me, has been bittersweet,” Malesela said. “We were hoping to make it to the final of the MTN8 which was not to be, but obviously everything happens for a reason. “We haven’t lost a game in the league so far, so that is the sweet part." “The defence is the biggest thing we needed to correct this season. So far it looks solid. “I think we still really need to look at our left side as to how we need to strengthen it,” coach “Dance” said. “We are still preparing Simphiwe [Mtsweni] but the guys that are doing the job so far are doing well. The goals that we concede, sometimes you cannot fault the defence.” Malesela said the perfect remedy for his backline had been good organisation and the right personnel. The addition of Marc van Heerden and Bongani Kama had been a great help for the team, he said. The Chilli Boys struggled to put the ball into the net in three consecutive matches, but again found their groove against Baroka, by netting four goals. Malesela said his troops were under pressure to score goals in their league match against Baroka. “We spoke about it before the match against Baroka and said, ‘look, we haven’t scored a goal, and that is unlike us, not to score goals,’” he said. “Not that we did not have the chances. We did. “It’s just that the decision making was killing us. “But when you look at the goals that were scored against Baroka, you can see the players had listened and the decision making was good.” On Saturday, Chippa play away in Durban to Golden Arrows, who are second on the PSL log.