Kaizer Chiefs new coach Nasreddine Nabi got his first three points at the helm after beating Marumo Gallants 2-1 in their Betway Premiership opening match on Saturday night.
Amakhosi development starlets Mduduzi Shabalala and Mfundo Vilakazi were both on target as the Soweto Giants started their campaign on a positive note.
After what has been the longest pre-season, the long-awaited Betway Premiership is now finally underway. The football-hungry Bloemfontein supporters got to witness Premiership football after a long time in the football wilderness, following the sale of Bloemfontein Celtic a few seasons ago.
Amakhosi’s new sheriff in charge Nabi, got his first taste of SA football and fielded a relatively new-look team, which saw five of his new signings being handed their debuts.
Gaston Sirino, Rushwin Dortley, Bradley Cross, Inacio Miguel, and goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari all made their official debuts in Chiefs colors.
In what was a sold-out affair at the Free State Stadium, Gallants could not have asked for a better start, when they caught Chiefs napping and got an early goal in the eighth minute through Sekela Sithole, who saw his shot being deflected inside the back of the net by Miguel.
The goal did, however, not discourage the visitors, as they took the game to Gallants in search of an equaliser. Cross almost got into the score sheet when he forced a reflex save from Gallant’s goalkeeper Washington Arubi to deny Bradley Cross.
Amakhosi continued to dominate play and kept on banging on the door, and their persistence finally paid off in the 17th minute when Shabalala dinked the ball over Arubi following an exquisite long pass from Sirino.
Nabi’s charges tried to push for the second goal, but a stubborn Gallants side was able to keep them at bay and went into the break level.
Arubi was substituted and replaced by former Amakhosi shot-stopper Daniel Akpeyi after picking up an injury. Chiefs picked up from where they left off in the first stanza and continued to search for the winning goal.
Former Chiefs star Joseph Malongoane was shown a straight red card when he denied Wandile Duba a goal scoring opportunity after fouling him on the edge of the box.
The introduction of teenager Mfundo Vilakazi paid dividends for Nabi, as the dribbling sensation scored the winning goal in the 80th minute when he curled the ball to the far post, leaving Akpeyi with no chance after a good passage of play from the Glamour Boys.
