Olympia Park Stadium, Rustenburg

6th April, 2008

ABSA Premiership

Kick Off: 15h00

Playing Conditions: Moderate North Westerly Wind, temperature at kick off 24° C

The Amakhosi recorded their third straight league victory as they swept away their Soweto rivals Moroka Swallows, at the Olympia Park Stadium in Rustenburg on Sunday afternoon.

Victory over The Birds sees Chiefs climb over Swallows and into eight place on the log by virtue of having a better goal difference then their historical foes.

It was a game that started off slowly as the match progressed; it became clear that this was a derby match and had all the ferociousness and intensity of such a game. Chiefs took the lead with their first real threat at goal when Mabhudi Khenyeza headed them in front, James Chamanga equalized for Swallows and the teams went into the break tied at 1-1.

The second 45 minutes were played at a frantic pace and Chiefs had Itumeleng Khune to thank for keeping them in the match, as he made to match defining saves first off a long range shot from Lefa Tsutsulupa and then at the feet of James Chamanga. Those saves were the turning point as Chiefs got the motivation to attack, Siphiwe Tshabalala was up ended by James Chamanga and Jonathan Quartey scored the resulting penalty kick, just before the end Thuso Phala found his first goal for Chiefs when he scored from close range to make the score 3-1.

Goal line drama

Siphiwe Tshabalala did fantastically well in the 15th minute to race onto a ball which flew over the Swallows defense, from the left wing he cut across the byline and sent in a cross looking for Kaizer Motaung Junior. Swallows defender Goodman Mazibuko got in ahead of Motaung and knocked the ball out for a corner, from the ensuing kick David Mathebula swung the ball in from the left and Mabhudi Khenyeza timed his run perfectly and headed the ball onto the cross bar and over the line. The Swallows players paused while the Chiefs players celebrated; the assistant of the right touch line was perfectly placed to see that the ball had indeed crossed the line and raised his flag to signal that the Amakhosi had indeed scored.

All square

Swallows brought themselves back on level terms just past the half hour mark, James Chamanga was able to score his 14th league goal of the season when Sandile Ndlovu found him with a pin point pass unmarked inside the Chiefs 18 yard area. All he had to do was hit the ball past Khune which he did to equalize, which he did. Five minutes after that Bevan Fransman rattled the cross bar for Swallows, he got the ball to rise over the Chiefs wall from a 36th minute free kick some 26 yards out. The ball rose over the ball and gained momentum and height as it beat a stranded Khune.

Crucial Khune

Khune was the difference between the teams as he made two big saves early in the second half, the importance of Khune’s early contributions were to be seen later on in the half. After some good build up work from Swallows on 59th minutes the ball made its way from the right hand touch line to Tsutsulupa, who was stationed on the right edge of the Chiefs 18 yard area around 22 yards from goal. Tsutsulupa made contact with the ball immediately and looked like getting his name on to the score sheet; Khune though launched himself through the air and grabbed the ball in acrobatic fashion to make a wonderful stop.

Khune part 2

If his first save was sublime his next was straight out of a goalkeeping manual, just past the hour mark James Chamanga was put clean through on goal with a defense splitting pass. The Chiefs rear guard all stood hoping for the official to lift his flag but none was forthcoming, and Chamanga raced into the Chiefs penalty area and Khune came off his line and dived at the feet of Chamanga to make a brave save.

Hard Work pays off

Riding the wave and motivated by Khune’s timely interventions Chiefs were spurred on to go for the win, Tshabalala’s dogged determination seen him on 65 minutes battle on the line touchline with the Swallows defense. As it looked as though he was about to lose the ball he continued on, and managed to gap in between Mazibuko and Tsutsulupa and as it looked as though he would get the ball the former pulled him down just inside the penalty box and the referee pointed to the spot. Jonathan Quartey stood up to the mark and dispatched the ball home as he struck it to his left, in the process he sent Etafia the wrong way and put Chiefs in the driving seat thus scoring his first ever goal for Chiefs.

Chiefs finish strong

The Amakhosi made certain of victory with under ten minutes to go, when Bevan Fransman miss kicked the ball during an attempted clearance off a long Chiefs throw in and the ball dropped for Thuso Phala who drove the ball home from close range. Gerald Sibeko came close to finding a fourth for Chiefs in second half injury time, as he curled a free kick from around 22 yards over the Swallows wall and onto to the cross bar with Etafia well beaten.

Derby delights

Sunday’s win was The Amakhosi’s first against Swallows in a league match since the 11th November 2006, when Chiefs won 2-0 in a game played behind closed doors at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. Sunday’s match was also the first time since May 2003 that Chiefs were able to find three goals in a league game against the Birds, during that game in the 2002 – 2003 season Chiefs won a five goal thriller 3-2.

Match Details:

Moroka Swallows: 34. Etafia, 16. Fransman, 2. Phaladi, 7. Haskins, 25. Mayinga,

22. Mazibuko, 20. Ndlovu, 14. Oerson, 12. Tsutsulupa, 13. Zwane

Substitutions:

In: 40. Alfred Phiri Out: 7. Mark Haskins 74 min


In: 9. Evans Gwekwerere Out: 13. Japhet Zwane 74 min


In: 18. Alton Meiring Out: 20. Sandile Ndlovu 83 min

Substitutes not used: 1. Aubrey Mathibe, 4. Patrick Mabedi, 38. Edward Malinga,

29. Sibusiso Themba

Cautions: Yellow Cards, 25. James Mayinga (two foot tackle on Gerald Sibeko) 17 min, 14. Cecil Oerson (out of play foul on Khune) 59 min, 22. Goodman Mazibuko (pulling Siphiwe Tshabalala down inside penalty area) 65 min

Dismissal: Red Card, 25. James Mayinga (second offence pulling knocking Mathebula down) 80 min

Kaizer Chiefs (4-4-2): 32. Khune, 2. Tau, 3. Bhasera, 6. McCarthy, 35. Quartey,

8. Nengomasha, 27. Sibeko, 14. Tshabalala, 24. Mathebula, 7. Motaung, 5. Khenyeza

Substitutions:

In: 26. Thuso Phala Out: 7. Kaizer Motaung Junior 69 min


In: 29. Moketi Tsotetsi Out: 6. Fabian McCarthy 76 min


In: 18. Arthur Zwane Out: 5. Mabhudi Khenyeza 86 min

Substitutes not used: 30. Baron, 10. Nkambule, 20. Zuke, 23. Bulu

Cautions: Yellow Card, 6. Fabian McCarthy (throwing leg out after Chamanga had beaten him) 71 min, 29. Moketi Tsotetsi (bringing down Gwekwerere) 79 min

Coach: Muhsin Ertugral


Assistant Coach: Fani Madida


Goalkeeper Coach: Rainer Dinkelacker

Match Officials:

Referee: Buyile Gqubile


Assistant 1: Enoch Molefe


Assistant 2: Andre Rezeers


4th Official: Paulo Marques


Match Commissioner: Stan Swart