Though happy to have collected seven points in their first four Betway Premiership fixtures, Chippa United coach Kwanele Kopo said the team’s biggest challenge was consistency.
The Chilli Boys started their league campaign with a 2-1 loss to Orlando Pirates but bounced back to beat Richards Bay 1-0.
Chippa then went on to play to a 1-1 draw against Sekhukhune United before their 2-1 victory against TS Galaxy at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Sunday.
Goals from Eva Nga Bienvenu and Ayabulela Konqobe ensured the Gqeberha-based side won their second consecutive home fixture.
Their good run has them placed fourth on the log.
“We are getting sharper as the games go and that is the most important thing, we are showing a lot of character,” Kopo said.
“We went to Sekhukhune which was a very difficult game, a top-four team last season.
“You get a red card in the 55th minute and you play 40 minutes with 10 players and you keep a clean sheet for those 40 minutes.
“So that is good character in the team, players are showing a higher level of commitment.
“These guys want to work, these guys want to achieve, the issue of quality has never been a question.
"[Aphelele] Teto — today was his first start and everybody will probably be asking why the coach hasn’t been playing this player.
“We are still waiting for Azolo Matrose to make his debut, so we have assembled a good squad thanks to the management and everybody in the team, but we need to be consistent.
“We need to repeat this for the next four games and that is the challenge.”
At this stage last season, Chippa only had two points.
“Yes, it’s different oppositions, but the accumulation of points is important and the fact that we have played two home games and won both matches is extremely important.
“But the challenge to myself, the staff, and the players is consistency, we have got to be consistent.
“This is going to be the language that we live on.
“If we come back after the break and we start dropping points, then this whole thing would have been a fluke, so hopefully we are not going to have that.”
Reflecting on Sunday’s win against TS Galaxy, Kopo said Chippa could have registered more goals on the day.
“The game was open for us in the first half.
“We started shaky because they came to press high and we were not getting our movements properly, but after that we settled and we knew we were always going to catch them on a counter.
“It was good to score first, and after that there was Sinoxolo’s [Kwayiba] one-on-one with the goalkeeper and you have Eva Nga [Bienvenu] one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
“You take those two goals, you are into the change room leading 3-0 or 3-1.
“We had a very harsh talk at halftime because this game was just about mentality and work ethic, it was never going to be decided on us being defeated or tactics.
“We were very spot on in our tactics, closed the central zone very well and we forced them to go wide, which is what we wanted them to do.
“We are happy with the win but we need to score more goals.”
Chippa’s next league fixture is against Golden Arrows at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on October 26 (8pm).
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