Chippa United coach Brandon Truter believes that with one or two tweaks, his team will recover from its slow start to the Betway Premiership season.
The Gqeberha side suffered their first defeat of the new PSL season after losing 3-0 to Orlando Pirates at Kings Park Stadium in Durban on Sunday.
Second-half goals from Gamphani Lungu, Lebone Seema and Daniel Msendami were enough to hand the Buccaneers a win after their disappointing draw against AmaZulu on Wednesday.
The Chilli Boys remained without a win in three matches after draws against Golden Arrows and Richards Bay, and this may have put early pressure on coach Truter.
Following the draw against AmaZulu at the same venue, the Buccaneers were looking to redeem themselves against the Chilli Boys, who were looking for their first win, and did that in style.
Ahead of the match, the coach did mention that in their previous two matches his players had struggled to keep the momentum going in the second half, and that was something he planned to fix in their game against the Buccaneers.
However, it appears that it may take some time for his players to overcome their habit of slacking in the second half.
“I think for 60 minutes the structure was good,” Truter said.
“We were in the game for 60 minutes, toe-to-toe, and the Pirates threw everything at us. We knew it was a team that wanted to play in the space behind us due to their speed, so we had to drop deeper at times.
“They exactly got their goal in the 50th minute in the second half, so it speaks to concentration, especially during a crucial period of the game.
“But this has been our Achilles’ heel in the past two games as well, where in the second half our intensity drops.
“It’s (the loss) tough to take, especially how good we played in that hour, but we will move on. It’s game three of the season.
“It’s a Chippa team that will get better. It’s a Chippa team that, if we tweak one or two moments, especially in attack, we should be getting out.”
The coach mentioned that travelling for home and away matches may put some strain on players, which could explain their energy drop in the second half as they continue to investigate what the problem is.
“We need to understand that wherever we go, it’s a two-hour flight. Once you get off a flight where you were sitting down, you have to recover.
“So, how many times do you really spend recovering before you work on tactics and fitness.
“And you need to acclimatise. Coming from the coast to inland is another factor.
“We played in Dobsinville in the rain and then from the inland came back to Durban, again the coast. So, it’s a lot of things we need to look at.
“Not having a home venue plays a big role.
“The travelling does have an effect on the boys.”
Chippa’s next PSL fixture is away against Siwelele FC next Tuesday. The Chilli Boys are 13th on the log with two points from three matches.
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