Moroka Swallows coach Steve Komphela says the Man of the Match prize money has raised performances to his players at training as they face Richards Bay in the Carling Knockout Round of 16 at King Zwelithini Stadium on Sunday (15:00).
The best player on the park walks away with R100,000 in the Carling Knockout and Komphela said he has noticed his players at training have raised their game higher to be part of the match in Durban.
“It is amazing what the launch has done to the players,” said Komphela.
“Everybody will be prepared to go and buckle out and try and go to the next round. I got reminded – I got a very rude awakening when we were training.
“I could feel some energy amongst the players and the physiotherapist said to me ‘this is what you get when you win man of the match’. I went ballistic and I said I had forgotten about that.
“The small discussion that occurred was that, but this is somebody’s salary and she looked at it in two ways: right or wrong. How practical is this? Is this sustainable? Is it good for them? It depends on how you look at it.
“If I were to go into a R100, 000 match myself, it would show and it starts from training, from the preparation. The innovation from Carling Black Label is starting to get in and there are lots of benefits in the competition.”
Komphela reached the final of this competition when he was in charge of Kaizer Chiefs, losing to Mamelodi Sundowns at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in the 2015/16 season.
His counterpart coach Kaitano Tembo, unlike Komphela, won this cup in the previous season when SuperSport United beat Platinum Stars in the final.
Tembo was the assistant coach at that time of Gordon Igesund.
Swallows and Bay will be meeting for the second time this season, with KwaZulu-Natal club winning 1-0 to end 19 games of winless streak in all competitions in September. They had not won since January this year last season.
The loss is still vividly buzzing in the face of Komphela.
“Our track record with Richards Bay is that when we played them at Dobsonville Stadium, they were one of the teams that beat us,” said Komphela.
“And that it’s on its own sends a strong message with regards to their capability.”
