Amakhosi were beaten after a convincing display from the Bucs, who created the greater chances and looked threatening each time they poured forward, and Komphela admits his side were a level below their counterparts in their on-field display.
“They [Pirates] had better energy and better intentions – I think we were a yard away from what they were doing,” he said after the game. “Each time we got the ball we lost it, and they were faster on transitions. When we regained possession, we were not as swift or as quick.
“The fact remains: we lost it, we have to respond and congratulations to them.”
Komphela noted that set-pieces, from which three of the game’s goals were scored, are a vital component of the game, and hopes his side will be able to bounce back quickly from the loss.
“Set-pieces decide the game,” he said. “Even us, we scored from a set-piece, and they also scored from set-pieces. Matches of this nature are decided on critical phases – either on transitions, which happened, on set pieces, which happened.
“We just need to go back and re-think what happened today, and respond.”
The loss leaves Chiefs in fourth place on the log, two points adrift of Bidvest Wits who have two games in hand. Amakhosi next face Golden Arrows in a midweek League encounter before their Telkom Knockout Derby semi-final against Pirates on Saturday.