Kaizer Chiefs missed a golden opportunity to obtain position number one in the DStv Premiership when they were thrashed 2-1 by Chippa United at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday night.
A win for Amakhosi would have seen them climb to the top of the league table for the first time this season. This would have been a great achievement for Chiefs who started the season on a bad footing and were at one point, flirting with relegation when they were languishing on position 14 on the log table.
Chiefs remain number four with 17 points from 11 matches. A consolation for Amakhosi is that they are still on top of sworn enemies Orlando Pirates who are fifth after they were held to a 1-1 draw by AmaZulu on Friday night.
Chiefs started the match with intentions of winning the match in the first half. When they took the lead in the 44th minute via a powerful header from Siyabonga Ngezana, it looked like they were in charge and more goals were forthcoming. The much-loathed Ngezana made amends after a series of blunders in previous matches and his headed goal energised the Chiefs attack and also excited the supporters who have been baying for his blood.
The second half was full of activity and Amakhosi tried to go for the kill but they wasted numerous scoring opportunities. Ashley du Preez, Keagan Dolly and Caleb Bimenyimana were the main culprits. Du Prees, signed from Stellenbosch FC in the off-season, is struggling to settle down and the pressures of playing for a big club like Chiefs is affecting him.
Truly speaking, Chiefs should have buried Chippa with an avalanche of goals but their misses in front of goal allowed the visitors to stage a comeback. Credit must go to Chippa who were stubborn and did not roll down when Chiefs were dominating play. They fought back like wounded tigers and they equalised via the boot of Siphelele Luthuli who scored with a thunderous shot after ten minutes from the half-time break. Chiefs were now pushed back into their own half as the Chilli Boys threatened and went for the winner. This resulted in a gluttony of mistakes from Amakhosi as Chippa kept on knocking on their door.
The pressure on the Chiefs defence was unbearable and Chippa, coached by novice Morgan Mammila, eventually found the winning goal from Ronald Pfumbidzai and Chiefs’ dreams were shattered. Chippa’s next game is against Sekhukhune United on Tuesday while Amakhosi will get an opportunity to redeem themselves against TS Galaxy on Wednesday at FNB Stadium.
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