“It was unreal,” Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter reacts to suddenly being without two strikers when Bernard Parker (ankle bruise) and Kingston Nkhatha (stomach flu) had to stay behind in Johannesburg a day before Sunday’s Ajax Cape Town clash at the Cape Town stadium.

But that’s top sport, anything can happen. The solution to unexpected challenge was to use Siphiwe Tshabalala as a false No 9. However, despite Shabba’s running up-front during the first half, the plan didn’t exactly work out as planned.

“We didn’t keep possession of the ball,” reflects Baxter. “And especially with Shabba as a false No 9 we needed to play higher up-the-field and keep the ball. Because only then Shabba’s movement off-the-ball would benefit other players running into the gaps he created. Our rhythm of play was not good.”

In the second half, the coach told George Maluleka to stay closer to Tshabalala. ”Reneilwe Letsholonyane and George form such a good combination,” continues Baxter. “So you can rotate a bit - when the one goes, the other drops a little. George did well. We started to take over the ball from Ajax and, basically, we gained the momentum. After Tefu Mashamaite’s goal, we were never in any real danger. We controlled the game.”

Mashamaite’s golden header came from a free kick whipped in the box by Tshabalala, who afterwards was selected as the Man-of-the-Match for his sterling performance.