Kaizer Chiefs fell further behind the Absa Premiership league leaders as they dropped vital points in a goalless draw against Maritzburg United at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday night.

The first 45 minutes started very brightly and it appeared it would be a free flowing open game, but after an early chance for Amakhosi’s Thomas Sweswe the game quickly tightened up and chances on goal were few and far between.

Still, the match did kick off at a lively pace and Sweswe had a great opportunity to give his side the lead as early as the fifth minute when a poor clearance at a corner-kick saw the ball fall to him unmarked and 12 yards out from goal, but Shu-Aib Walters was quickly off his goal line to smother the Chiefs man and deny him the chance.

However, after a busy opening ten minutes the game quickly settled down as the two midfields took a stranglehold of the game, which made for a rather dull affair.

Chiefs, though, were playing the more attractive football, often producing some swift passing on the edge of the box, but it seemed to their own detriment as not one of their players wanted to take responsibility and have a shot on target.

Instead, the Soweto team appeared content to try and pass the ball into the back of the net, but United’s defence were having none of it and delivered some crunching tackles in the final third to break up Amakhosi’s good-looking football.

Up front for Maritzburg they looked unimaginative and without a clue as they stuttered in their attack, often gifting the ball back to Chiefs with some horrible passing.

The next decent effort on goal only came three minutes before the half-time break when an 18-yard snap-shot from Mthokozisi Yende went inches wide of the target, with Walters breathing a sigh of relief as he was well beaten.

A minute later and Lucky Baloyi should really have scored the game’s opening goal when he latched onto a low cross from the left by George Lebese, but the midfielder completely miscued his shot at the back post into a United defender with an empty net at his mercy.

The second half saw Maritzburg actually start the brighter of the two teams and they nearly took the lead three minutes after the restart.

Felix Obada made a great individual run down the right flank, beating two defenders on his drive into the box where he fired a powerful shot goalwards from ten yards out, but Arthur Bartman was up to the task with a fine close-range save.

In a similar run ten minutes later, again Obada drove into the box and shot for goal, which went well wide, when he should have played the ball across the face of goal to an unmarked Prince Olomu who surely would have put his side into the lead.

In the 72 minute Obada was causing more problems down the right flank when, this time, he supplied a deep cross into the box to find substitute Morne Davids unmarked at the back post, but only seconds after coming on the Maritzburg man fired over the crossbar from ten yards out when he should have at least hit the target.

Thereafter, Chiefs took firm control of the game as they pushed forward in their numbers in search of a winner, but they couldn’t find the right pass in the final third that would lead to the goal they so desperately wanted.

The game ended 0-0 and it was evident that Amakhosi coach Vladimir Vermezovic was visibly upset on the sidelines with a result that sees the Soweto club drop further behind league leaders Supersport United after they beat Santos 1-0 in their match on Tuesday night.

Maritzburg United (0) 0


Kaizer Chiefs (0) 0

Teams

United: Walters; Evans, Hendricks, Diouf, Matuka, Obada, Booysen (Madondo 68’), Letjies, Sosibo (M Davids 72’), Sibisi, Olomu (F. Davids 85’)

Chiefs: Bartman; Tau, Sweswe, Isaacs, Jambo, Yende, Baloyi (Dladla 74’), Nengomasha, Lebese (L. Khune 77’), Tshabalala, Parker