Tinkler thrilled with Chippa
Chippa United coach Eric Tinkler is satisfied with his team’s 1-0 PSL triumph against Free State Stars at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday night.
A second-half goal by Ruzaigh Gamildien saw the Chilli Boys bag their second win of the season.
“We are thrilled to get the three points, especially in PE because the record here has not been good over the past few seasons,” Tinkler said.
“I have explained the importance of winning at home to the players, especially playing at this beautiful stadium, which suits our brand of football,” he said.
“We want to play a possession-based brand of football, with a bit of entertainment as well, but also giving the players a certain amount of freedom.
“I felt we did that in the first half with the chances we created but we struggled to put it [the ball] in the back of the net.
“As much as we work on it in training, it’s not the same.
“It’s the pressure situation, players tend to panic in that final third and make the wrong decisions.”
Chippa kicked of their league season on a shaky start.
It was only in their fourth match of the season that they managed to bag their first full points, after they beat Baroka FC 1-0 at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in East London.
Wednesday night’s success also saw the Chilli Boys rise from 15th to ninth position on the log.
The 48-year-old mentor believes Chippa’s situation has improved, although there are areas that still need to be worked on.
He says the move to ninth place on the log has taken a huge amount of weight off the players’ shoulders.
“In the first 15 minutes of the game we looked a bit jittery, but we settled and created all those chances,” Tinkler said.
“At halftime, I was a little bit worried about our defensive shape.
“We gave the opposition too much time on the ball, but the only threats they really caused were with the long ball by Rodgers Eleazar or the crosses into the box to Eleazar.
“Although we dealt with it, we needed to stop the supply and then it became less off a threat.
“We tried to rectify that at halftime and I thought it did get better.
“We created more chances in the second half, got in front and that last 15-minute period we were really dealing with the long ball constantly.
“You could start to see some of the legs fading, I think from the intensity of the brand of football I try to play, which players still need to adapt to.
“The preseason that they had does not suit the brand of football I am trying to implement, but I believe game by game they will get stronger and better,” Tinkler said.
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