After a convincing midweek league win, an avalanche of goals sunk Kaiser Chiefs Football Club back to their drawing board. They capitulated and suffered a four nil defeat at the hands of the defending DStv Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns FC on Saturday in Pretoria, South Africa.
Sunday | August 14, 2022
The fixture billed as the pick of the weekend, played at the magnificent Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, produced a one-sided 4-goal rush on Saturday sunny afternoon.
The first goal of the much-talked about fixture arose from center-backs’ attempt to play from behind and all hell broke loose. Siyabonga Ngezana played the ball short back to his goalkeeper Bruce Bvuma and the speedy Gaston Sirino came flying and pounced on the 6th minute from kickoff. The Sundowns supporters erupted in a euphoric frenzy.
The second saw Mamelodi Sundowns sharpshooter Peter Shalulile bungled inside the box and the referee decidedly pointed to the spot. Shalule converted to make the score 2-0 in the 17th minute.
Kaizer Chiefs came back in the second half more resolute to reduce the deficit. Their onslaught paid dividends when they were awarded a penalty only for Khama Billiat to have it saved, not once but he got a rebound which did not yield a goal.
That was one of the rare moments Su shot-stopper Ronwen Williams got to work in goals. Nevertheless, the Brazilians had their tails up. On the 53rd minute, Shalulile got his brace after some scintillating interplay to take the tally to 3-0.
Amakhosi were stunned. For a while it looked like the floodgates were opening wide in a fully sold out stadium.
Ethiopian striker Abubekar Nasser got in on the act when he received a through pass from Lyle Lekay on the left wing. With a step-over and a feign shot, he unlocked the Chiefs defense to whip the ball with his left foot across the keeper to make 4-0 in their 76th minute.
To the jubilation of a legion of their fans, Sundowns were home and dry. On the other hand, Chiefs fans were shell-shocked. To what seemed like the game was dragging to the full extent of regulation time, they started to abandon their seats and set home early before the final whistle. They had seen quite enough.
Although Chiefs had better ball possession with new arrival Siyethemba Sithebe pulling strings in the midfield, they did not make it count when it mattered most. Whereas captain Andile Jali orchestrated Sundowns attack with slow build-ups from the back. This tactic lured Chiefs’ rearguard out and left them exposed mainly on their defensive-wing positions.
This is the second defeat after the games in the 2022/2023 DStv Premiership with one one win for Chiefs. For Sundowns though, this is their second win with one loss since the start of this league edition. Again, for them, the defense for the title has begun.
Saturday | Aug. 13 DStv Premiership Results:
Stellenbosch FC 3-1 Royal AM
Marumo Gallants FC 1-1 Golden Arrows FC
Richards Bay FC 1-0 Sekhukhune United FC
AmaZulu FC 2-1 Cape Town City FC
Sunday | Aug. 14 DStv Premiership League Fixtures:
Orlando Pirates FC vs Chippa United FC at Orlando Stadium (Soweto) – 15h00
TS Galaxy FC vs SuperSport United FC at Mbombela Stadium (Nelspruit) – 17h30