Posted in News on Sep 21, 2006.
Moved out of economy class and into the business class and will be hoping for an upgrade to first class with victory over their Soweto rivals, Moroka Swallows which will see them make it to the final for the first time since 2004. At the present time both these teams will be entering this game looking for a victory, which will help them turn around what can only be described as less than perfect starts to the new season.
Both Chiefs and Swallows succumbed at home in midweek as The Amakhosi tasted defeat for the first time this season at the hands of Wits University, and The Dube Birds narrowly lost to defending PSL Champions Mamelodi Sundowns at the Johannesburg Stadium. When it comes to Swallows in Cup matches Chiefs have held the upper hand over their Soweto rivals down the years, in four Cup games against the Dube Birds since the inception of the PSL in 1996 The Amakhosi have a 100% record against them.
When the teams last met in a Cup game it was in the 2004 Coca Cola Cup Semi Final game, which was played at Vodacom Loftus in Tshwane, Patrick Mayo who started the game as left back gave the large crowd something to cheer about as he pounced to give Chiefs the lead.
Two minutes after that Pitso Lekone got one back for The Dube Birds and set the pulses racing as the fans in Tshwane were being treated to a real spectacle, with two goals in the opening fifteen minutes. As the game wore on both teams continued probing one another as chances fell either way, Swallows were then handed a perfect opportunity to go in front as they were awarded a penalty. Gary McNab stepped up and converted his spot kick to give Swallows the advantage on 77 minutes, as he set the game up for a photo finish.
As Swallows began to prepare for what would have been a memorable cup triumph over Chiefs, Collins Mbesuma got in on the act and with two minutes of normal time left he struck to send the game into extra time. Extra time could not separate the two teams and penalties were needed to decided the out come of this game, Swallows amazingly failed to convert any of their spot kicks as Chiefs ran out winners via the shoot out.
Prior to that Coca Cola Cup game a few months earlier it was Collins Mbesuma who once again was the breaker of birds hearts when he struck a goal on 28 minutes to hand Chiefs a fiercestly contested SAA Supa8 Semi Final against Swallows. Also worth mention is that whenever Chiefs have been under fire they have come up with big performances against Swallows in Cup games. True to this fact was when the two teams met in a Coca Cola Cup game in 2002, Kabamba Musasa struck a truly amazing goal as he spun round a couple of Swallows defenders and struck a neat shot which beat the Swallows keeper and proved to be the match winner.
Ernst Middendorp will be hoping for the same kind of performance and result from his team on Sunday as The Amakhosi aim to make it five wins on the trot against Swallows in Cup games. Tickets for the game, which are being snapped up at rapid speed, are available at all Computicket outlets nation wide as well as Shoprite- Checkers stores. The price of a ticket for Adult fan is R 20 and Juvenile tickets are also available , the match will kick off at 15h15 on Sunday at the ABSA Stadium in Durban
Kaizer Chiefs Vs Moroka Swallows Cup Games Since the inception of the PSL in 1996 – 1997
1996 BOB SAVE Super Bowl 2nd Round
5th October 1996
Moroka Swallows 0 Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Lekwane, Ndlanya)
2002 COCA Cola Cup 1st Round
5th October 2002
Moroka Swallows 0 Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Musasa 63’)
2004 SAA Supa Eight Semi Final
19th September 2004
Moroka Swallows 0 Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Mbesuma 28’)
2004 COCA Cola Cup Semi Final
4th December 2004
Moroka Swallows 2 (Lekone 14’, McNab 77’ pen) Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Mayo 12’, Mbesuma 88 ‘)
Chiefs win 2-0 aet and penalty shoot out
Head to Head since 1996
P W L GF GA GD
Chiefs 4 4 0 6 2 4
Swallows 4 0 4 2 6 -4