A second half strike by Emmanuel Ngobese was all league champions Kaizer Chiefs needed to secure maximum point in the opening PSL fixture of the new year when they beat Santos 1-0 at the FNB Stadium on Wednesday night.

Even though the Capetonians gave a good account of themselves under the leadership of new coach David Byrne, Amakhosi were not about to let maximum points slip through the fingers knowing that anything less than a win will see them lose ground as far as the league championship is concerned.

Despite having played three games short of the two top teams, log leaders Orlando Pirates and second-place Mamelodi Sundowns, Chiefs are still well on track of successfully defending the championship they won for the first time in over ten years.

The win is Chiefs’ sixth out of ten outings and Ngobese became the club’s tenth player to net for the Naturena-based outfit when he dribbled his way past his marker inside the Santos box before blasting it home in the 58th minute.

Even though the first half was lukewarm affair with chances few and far between, the teams pulled out all stops to provide an even better performance in the second stanza.

Even the match officials felt the effect of the Christmas break when an assistant referee required touchline treatment after he fell as a result of a muscle pull.

The visitors had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the first half when an unmarked Thembile Kanono tested Rowan Fernandez from outside the box but only managed to hit the cross with a thunderous shot.

The effort was the result of a brilliant move that started in the midfielder of the park and saw the tall Jean-Marc Ithier head down towards Kanono, and the midfielder did not hesitate.

The woodwork came into play once again in the 59th minute when Ruben Cloete almost silenced the Chiefs legion as they celebrated Ngobese’s goal a minute earlier.

The midfielder broke loose on the left flank and unleashed a powerful left-footed shot that beat the outstretched arm of Fernandez, but he watched in agony as the ball rebounded off the up-right.

The visitors had another chance of pulling one back and this time around the lanky Ithier was at the forefront of the attack. The Mauritian international got on the end of substitute Marawaan Bantam’s cross but his diving header inside the box failed to hit the target.

Despite suffering their seventh loss of the season in 12 outings, the People’s Team find themselves in tenth spot with 13 points.

However, they will have to pull up their socks if they wish to escape the relegation axe as two points is all that separates them from bottom of the log side Silver Stars.

Teams

Kaizer Chiefs: Rowen Fernandez, Cyril Nzama, Patrick Mabedi, Siphiwe Mkhonza, Nhlanhla Kubeka, Arthur Zwane, Tenashe Nengomasha, Gerald Sibeko (John Moshoeu 61), Emmanuel Ngobese, David Radebe (Lucky Mzizi 61), Collins Mbesuma (Derrick Spencer 75)

Santos: Brendon Wardle, Duran Francis, Edries Burton, Zvenyika Makonese, Musa Otieno Ongao, Jermaine Christians, Ruben Cloete (Warren Budde 75), Richardo Mannetti, Thembile Kanono (Marawaan Bantam 64), Carlo Scott, Jean-Marc Ithier