Midfielder Arthur Zwane redeemed himself with a well-taken goal on 43 minutes to give Amakhosi a 1-0 lead at the break. The goal was a combination of great passes between striker Mayo and Tenashe Nengomasha who provided the crucial pass.

Zwane had become the centre of attraction following his hand clearance in the Coca-Cola Cup first round match against Santos. He was heavily criticised after that act and there were even suggestions that he was depressed as a result of the incident. But against Cosmos Zwane gave the performance of his life and it was not surprising as Chiefs dominated the left.

The goal was a long time coming. While Cosmos barely visited Baloyi, Phali had his hands full while trying to contain the hosts. Mayo must have been disappointed with his first half performance as he missed chance after chance. The usually peaceful Amakhosi supporters could not contain themselves as they started calling for his substitution.

But at the end of the day it was an important victory that took Amakhosi back to the summit in the Premiership standings with 17 points. The Chiefs coach would have reasons to be angry at his strikers particularly Patrick Mayo who could have easily scored four on the day. "It was embarrassing and I am very disappointed," said Dumitru of the missed chances at a post-match conference.

"I think there was a lot of faults mainly from the opposition, but the standard of refereeing was too pathetic. There were a number of professional fouls, which were ignored by the referee. Shoes (Moshoeu) was kicked in the rib and that was disregarded.

"We missed as lot of sitters and I am not happy with that. We made life difficult for ourselves. When you miss so many chances the midfield and the back four lose that sharp psychological approach. That has to be addressed as soon as possible," said Dumitru.

Zimbabwean junior international Nengomasha was particularly impressive as he won vital tackles in midfield and his distribution was equally impressive. If Dumitru's post-match words are anything, former Moroka Swallows midfielder Jabulani Mendu could spend more time warming the bench.

"Jabu has to compete fairly with Tenashe who is on top of his game. We cannot afford to have any player lacking behind in terms of our standards. It’s clear that Jabu has got the message and it cannot be hidden," said Dumitru.

From the first whistle, Mayo - not very popular with some of the supporters - appeared unsettled despite ample spaces given to him by the Cosmos defenders. But for his part Mayo played an important role in some of the moves.

As early as the 13th minutes Mayo saw his header being palmed for a corner by Cosmos keeper Avril Phali following an intelligent ball from midfield sensation Jabu Pule – who had an outstanding game.

Mayo worked a quick ball through to Zwane on 26 minutes but his attempt was easily dealt with. A minute later Mayo seemed to dribble every Cosmos player on his sight but when he finally laid the ball to his teammates, the visitors had already recovered to clear danger.

The former SuperSport United marksman missed a clear scoring opportunity on 80 minutes following a clever pass from Pule with the keeper already committed and only one defender on the line. That miss summed up a frustrating afternoon for Mayo, as he was ejected four minutes later with Thabo Mooki taking his place.

While Cosmos would have people believe that they were hundred percent focused on the game, the opposite appeared to be the truth. Jomo Sono's men have a crucial Coca-Cola Cup quarterfinal match against Wits University on Wednesday and that appeared to be what was on their mind.

Ezenkosi never really troubled the home side and Brian Baloyi, making his second start since the beginning of the season, had a relatively easy afternoon except for a minor blunder at the start of the game when he could not handle the ball and was relieved to see Bucuane's effort cleared by his defence.

The visitors had numerous chances but Bafana Bafana midfielder Teboho Mokoena could not control his shots - twice - from free-kicks just outside the box. He was later replaced by Shere Lekgothoane on 71 minutes. Nkanyiso Zondi came on for defender Andrew Rabutla on 67 minutes.

Cosmos made their last change on 76 minutes with Hilton Cuna coming on for Bucuane – a move that was applauded by the Amakhosi supporters.

Meanwhile, defender Isaac Mabotsa made his first appearance for the season when he came on for goalscorer Zwane on 74 minutes. Mabotsa got down to business as he cleared a dangerous cross from Mabalane. DR Congo international Kabamba Musasa made his second appearance as a sub when he replaced Dlamini - who got a yellow card on 61 minutes - on 63 minutes.

Teams:

Kaizer Chiefs: Baloyi, Nzama, Mabedi, McCarthy, Kannemeyer, Nengomasha, Pule, Zwane, Moshoeu, Mayo, Dlamini.

Jomo Cosmos: Phali, Rabutla, Mhlomgo, Mohlala, Sephadi, Magalefa, Mokoena, Ntsume, Mabalane, Bucuane, Mwafulirwa.

Referee: Petros Mathabela

Cards: Sephadi 22, Rabutla 44, Dlamini 61