Kaizer Chiefs defeated a stubborn Cape Town City 2-1 at a jam-packed Athlone Stadium on Sunday afternoon to advance to the semi-finals of the MTN8.
The Glamour Boys join Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns who booked spots in the next stage of the competition when they won their matches on Saturday.
When referee Luxolo Badi blew the final whistle at Athlone Stadium, there was a huge sigh of relief for Chiefs coach Molefi Ntseki, who tightly hugged his players who had converged in a group.
That explained how desperate he needed the victory. It was the coach’s first official victory since he took over as head coach in the off-season.
The game started in high tempo with both teams taking pot-shots at each other.
The match had all the ingredients of a cup clash – rough tackles, yellow cards, goals, and lots of dribbling.
Chiefs and City were also evenly matched, with seven shots on target from each side.
The shortest man on the field, Marc van Heerden, silenced the vociferous Chiefs crowd when he outjumped lanky Chiefs defenders and headed the ball home for the opening goal.
Chiefs responded bravely and Ashley du Preez used his speed to outrun City defenders and equalised in the 36th minute, sending Amakhosi fans into a state of frenzy.
Chiefs’ substitute Christian Saile proved to be a problem for the home side with dangerous crosses and passes.
Edson Castillo’s winning goal deep in injury time electrocuted the Chiefs grandstand and Amakhosi faithful went into wild and uncontrollable celebrations.
After that, City threw everything at Amakhosi and with seconds remaining on the clock, the visitors survived a major scare when City hit the crossbar and missed from a rebound.
Commenting after the match, Ntseki dedicated the victory to club chairman and supporters after a rather tough start to the season.
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