Posted in Match Report, News on Apr 29, 2017.
SuperSport United 2 (Masango 23’, Masilela (og) 90’)
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Tshabalala 13’, 34’)
What Happened?
Kaizer Chiefs will rue the missed chances and defensive mistakes that led to Supersport United snatching a late equaliser in a match that should have seen Chiefs collect all the three points. The match ended 2-2 at Matsatsantsa’s second home venue, Mbombela Stadium on Saturday evening.
Three changes were made by Coach Steve Komphela from the squad that did duty on Tuesday’s match against Cape Town City FC. Lucky Baloyi came on for the slightly injured George Maluleka and George Lebese made way for Edmore Chirambadare, while Tsepo Masilela replaced Sibusiso Khumalo in the starting line-up.
This was the second meeting between the two sides in a fortnight. The previous meeting was a Nedbank Cup quarterfinal match at FNB Stadium.
With Matsatsantsa’s head coach Stuart Baxter still recovering from his spider bite, the team’s bench was led by his assistant, Kaitano Tembo.
In only his second match for Kaizer Chiefs, young goalkeeper Bruce Bvuma made a key save when he fisted away Masango’s well taken free kick in the 1st minute of the match.
SuperSport United had a chance in the 8th minute with a nicely taken corner kick that found Clayton Daniels’ head but it was cleared off the line by Tsepo Masilela.
The 11th minute saw Chiefs come close to scoring when Bernard Parker’s shot was blocked by Daniels and he got a chance from the rebound but, with Reyaad Pieterse stranded, the ball hit the upright and failed to cross the line.
A moment of brilliance came in the 13th minute when captain Siphiwe Tshabalala scored a stunner identical to the one he scored on Tuesday. He found Pieterse off his line, looped the ball from outside the area and it sailed into the goals.
Joseph Molangwane was given a yellow by referee Philip Tinyani after a dangerous tackle on Reneilwe Letsholonyane.
SuperSport were under pressure in the 19th minute with Shabba laying on beautiful ball to Molangoane who took the ball brilliantly but Pieterse was equal to the task.
The heavens started opening up and it started pouring down harder but that didn’t affect the pace of the match.
Former Kaizer Chiefs man Mandla Masango dribbled past Erick Mathoho and scored a well taken goal to Bvumá’s left side corner in the 22nd minute.
In the 29th minute, United’s Grant Kekana received a caution after a bad tackle and a push on Edmore Chirambadare.
Chiefs continued dominating the match with a superior ball possession.
With the pitch getting heavier after the downpour, this slightly affected the match but the lads from both sides kept pushing.
Chiefs dominance saw a great build up which saw Ramahlwe Mphahlele pass a fantastic ball to Shabba who had enough space to pick a spot and finished brilliantly, to give his side the lead in the 34th minute.
Mphahlele was causing all sorts of problems for the home team with his penetrating runs on the right, adding an extra man in Kaizer Chiefs’ attack.
Bernard Parker made a solo run and eventually took a shot that went wide in the 41st minute.
The high octane first half went into half time with Chiefs in the lead.
The second half kicked off with no changes to the playing personnel.
Defender Ramahlwe Mphahlele’s runs on the right continued to give SuperSport’s defence a hard time when he crossed a good ball in the 50th towards Parker but Boxall covered it well and headed the ball away, resulting in a corner for Chiefs.
The 57th minute saw Gustavo Páez come on slightly injured Shabba (thigh strain), who went straight to the dressing room to be assessed by the medical team after being substituted.
On the other side, another goalscorer, Masango was replaced by Thabo Mnyamane in the 59th minute.
Chiefs’ second substitution came in the 61st minute when William Twala come on for Chirambadare.
Twala’s first attack 64th minute but his ball went wide from a tight angle.
Matsatsantsa’s second substitution came in the 69th minute when Teboho Mokoena replaced Michael Morton.
The 71st minute saw Mphahlele continue to torment Matsatsanta when took a shot that went slightly wide and saw Pieterse crash into the post behind him.
In the 78th minute, Páez’ beautiful pass found Molangoane who was in a good position but was let down by his final shot which went wide.
Bvuma had his moment of brilliance in the 85th minute when he came out timeously to deny Phala who had made a great run when he hoodwinked the defenders into thinking he would pass the ball before going solo. Bvuma came out with great confidence and received applause from the crowd.
Twala was in the mix again in the 87th minute but his shot was stopped by Pieterse.
Pieterse went into Referee Tinyani’s books for an offence.
In the 89th minute, Chiefs lost concentration when Mathoho tried to deal with SuperSport’s attack when he passed the ball with his heel to a team mate but the ball ended up on Modiba’s feet who shot the ball that deflected off Masilela and went into the net.
The referee blew the final whistle three minutes later, with the teams sharing the spoils.
Key moment in the match:
It was a special day for Siphiwe Tshabalala, starting his 300th match for Kaizer Chiefs and scoring two brilliantly taken goals. The player was already honoured by the Club last season when he achieved his 300 official appearance in the Gold & Black of the Phefeni Glamour Boys
Most Valuable Player (MVP):
The hardworking Ramahlwe Mphahlele received the man of the match trophy after his good work down the right, but was disappointed with the team conceding a late goal.
What it means:
Kaizer Chiefs remain in position 4 on the log with 46 points, 4 points behind leaders, Mamelodi Sundowns. Chiefs are left with 4 matches this season.
Kaizer Chiefs 11: Bvuma; Mphahlele, Mathoho, Cardoso, Masilela, Molangoane (Ekstein 80’), Katsande, Baloyi, Chirambadare (Twala 61’); Tshabalala (Páez 57), Parker
Subs not used: Sixhaso, Gordinho, Buchanan, Ekstein
SuperSport United 11: Pieterse, Boxall, Kekana, Daniels, Bhasera, Phala, Furman, Brockie, Letsholonyane (Modiba 80), Masango (Mnyamane 59’), Morton (Mokoena 69’)
Subs not used: Williams, Mashamaite, Ritchie, Booysen
Next Match: Kaizer Chiefs are at home against Lamontville Golden Arrows at the FNB Stadium in another Absa Premiership fixture at the FNB Stadium on Saturday, 6 May (kick-off is at 20:15).