Kaizer Chiefs players and officials were smiling again after ending a recent slump -- which included elimination from the lucrative Telkom Knockout competition -- with a 3-1 Premier League win over Black Leopards at Thohoyandou Stadium on Saturday night.

But it was more in the nature of relieved happiness from the Amakhosi clan in a 6000 crowd rather than the assurance of old which often greeted Chiefs' victories in more domineering days.

Chiefs built a comfortable enough 2-0 lead by the interval after a two-goal scoring burst midway through the opening half produced goals from Shaun Bartlett and Patrick Moyo.

But instead of going on to complete a trademark success, Chiefs lost their impetus and rhythm in the second period and were duly unsettled when Robert Ngambi reduced the deficit in the 71st minute with an irrepressible header.

Amakhosi goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez, enjoying a golden season, made a rare blunder and raced to the edge of the penalty area in a vain bid to stymie one of Leopards' persistent scoring sorties.

And Fernandez was stranded in no-man's-land when Ngambi's goal brought the game alive.

Leopards had usurped the initiative and were probing for an equaliser when Chiefs staged a telling counter-attack in the 88th minute and David Radebe assured victory for Amakhosi with a third goal from Kaizer Motaung jnr's cross.

It was ironic that with top former Bafana Bafana scorer Shaun Bartlett enjoying probably his most impressive game since joining Chiefs at the start of the season that he suffered a 29th minute injury and was forced to leave the field.

But despite their second-half fade-out, the three points Chiefs mustered enabled them to vault from an undistinguished tenth position in the log to seventh place.

"I am not too perturbed about the second-half decline," said Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp afterwards.

"Most important was the manner in which we performed in the first half, which bodes well for our ambitions to climb up the log table now that we are out of the Telkom Knockout."