Posted in News on Feb 09, 2007.
Chiefs dropped vital points in their bid to win the PSL crown back from Mamelodi Sundowns when they were defeated by a 2-1 score line against the Brazilians this past weekend. Over all Chiefs performance against Sundowns was not one to rave about, nevertheless the boys in gold and black have put behind them the happenings from last Saturday, as well as the battering they took in the aftermath of the defeat to Sundowns.
With ten games left to the end of the season Chiefs are well aware that should they wish to once again be taken seriously as title contenders there can be no more slip ups, and a win against Golden Arrows is a must.
Arrows lead by the capable Mabhuti Khanyeza will be no pushovers and Chiefs will be aware of the fact that their visitors this weekend are a vastly improved team, and will be looking forward to giving The Amakhosi a go on Saturday afternoon.
Having beaten Arrows in their last four outings against them Chiefs will be looking to strengthen their strangle hold over Arrows, by notching up win number five in as many games against them. A victory for Chiefs will give them the necessary boost to both get their title aspirations back on the fast track, it will also give Chiefs the upper hand over Arrows who they will again meet later this month as they begin the defence of their ABSA Cup Crown.
Historically Speaking
Kaizer Chiefs and Golden Arrows met for the first time in a Premier Soccer League game during the 2000 – 2001 season, which was Arrows first season in the top flight of South African football. It was Arrows who emerged the winners from the first meeting between the two teams in November 2000, when despite taking the lead through Thabo Mooki Chiefs ended up losing the game 3-1. Arrows proved to be Chiefs nemeses for quiet some time thereafter and won three of the first five meetings between the teams, with Chiefs wining one match and while the other ended in a draw.
In recent times all that has changed as Chiefs have had the upper hand over Arrows, particularly since the arrival of Ernst Middendorp, with Arrows last winning a game against Chiefs on the 23rd February 2003. Under the guise of Ernst Middendorp Chiefs have been victorious against Arrows in three out of three league games, and defeated Arrows for the first time in Durban during the German coaches first season with Chiefs.
It was goals from Serge Djiehoua, Fabian McCarthy and John Shoes Moshoeu that guided Chiefs to their first away win against Arrows, in an emphatic 3-1 victory on the 15th September 2005. Chiefs then completed the double over Arrows last season as goals from Songwe Chalwe and Kaizer Motaung Junior sealed a 2-1 win for The Amakhosi. Last seasons back to back league wins over Arrows was special in that it was the first time that either team had managed to win both the home and away legs of matches in a single season.
The start of the current season also saw Chiefs achieve two firsts against Arrows in early August The Amakhosi played their first official game of the season, which happened to be an SAA Supa8 ¼ Final game against Golden Arrows. Siyabonga Nkosi won the man of the match award as his first half goal and a penalty in the second from David Obua, guided Chiefs into the next round of the competition with a 2-0 win. The second first of the season came on the 1st October last year at the Chatsworth Stadium in Durban, when Chiefs and Arrows met in a league match.
Siyabonga Nkosi once again gave Chiefs the lead against Arrows only for Mabuthi Khanyeza to cancel out the Chiefs midfielders’ goal when he levelled matters inside the final ten minutes of the match. Derrick Spencer though had other ideas and with five minutes of normal time remaining he stormed through the Arrows defence and knocked home the winner from close range, to hand Chiefs their first win of the 2006 – 2007 season. Chiefs will be aiming to make it five wins in five games in all competitions against Arrows on Saturday afternoon, a win which will keep their recent 100% record over Arrows in tact.
Form
January and the start of February will be a five week period that Chiefs would like to pass from their memory and would not want to recount the fact that they had won just two of six league games in this time.
Having played themselves back in to form and having ascended the PSL standings two weeks ago with a well-executed victory over current PSL Log Leaders Ajax Cape Town.
Chiefs then lost the grip of the lead with what can only be described as a below par performance last Saturday as they went down 2-1 to Mamelodi Sundowns, in strange circumstances at Vodacom Loftus in Tshwane.
Chiefs form in recent weeks has resembled a theme park roller coaster, with many highs and lows with the high of gaining victory over Benoni Premier United and Ajax Cape Town, washed away with losses to SuperSport, Cosmos and Sundowns. Ernst Middendorp will be looking for an inspired performance from his team on Saturday afternoon and will be hoping for the same kind of fluent one touch football that they displayed, during their victory over Ajax a fortnight ago.
Golden Arrows in the mean time have crawled up the table as they look to climb out of the basement, with recent wins over Bidvest Wits University and Amazulu they have been able to build a three-point gap between themselves and the bottom two clubs. Arrows might have started out the season in the worst of shape but they seem to be finding some sort of form, in their last league game they managed to defeat Bidvest Wits and scored two of their 3 goals in a 3-1 win while playing for almost forty minutes of the match with a man less.
Key Players
Siyabonga Nkosi who has already found him self on the score sheet when Chiefs met Arrows earlier in the season will once again play an important part for Chiefs during Saturday’s game. Nkosi’s ability to lead Chiefs midfield charge against the likes of Papi Zothwane and Richard Henyakane will allow for Chiefs to control an area of the field where they lost out against Sundowns.
Chiefs will also be looking towards the experience of veteran midfielder Thabo Mooki to assist in Nkosi in this area of the park, Mooki will be making a return from a month long injury to assist them in their quest for victory. Along with a returning Mooki will be that of Fabian McCarthy who is expected to add stability for Chiefs in the centre of defence. In addition The Amakhosi will have added power in attack and will be stronger in the final third, as striker Rotson Kilambe returns to action after a one match ban.
Whenever Chiefs play Arrows the first name to roll off the lips of any Amakhosi fan in the days leading up to a game against Arrows is that of their striker Mabuthi Khanyeza. Apart from the fact that he has scored four goals in his last two league games, Khanyeza has a penchant for scoring goals against Chiefs.
Even though The Amakhosi have beaten Arrows in their last three league outings, Arrows have managed to score a goal in each game, and one it will not need to difficult for one to guess that all three goals have come courtesy of Khanyeza. Arrows midfielder Papi Zothwane who failed in his attempt to join Chiefs at the end of last season, will be aiming to impress his would be suitors on Saturday in an attempt to once again open the lines of communication between himself and The Amakhosi.
Kaizer Chiefs Vs Lamontville Golden Arrows Results Since 2000 – 2001 League Only
2000-2001
Lamontville Golden Arrows 3 Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Mooki)
Kaizer Chiefs 0 Lamontville Golden Arrows 0
2001-2002
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Fredericks) Lamontville Golden Arrows 0
Lamontville Golden Arrows 1 (Mkhize) Kaizer Chiefs 0
2002-2003
Kaizer Chiefs 0 Lamontville Golden Arrows 1 (Lackay)
Lamontville Golden Arrows 2 (Khanyeza x2) Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Kannemeyer)
2003-2004
Lamontville Golden Arrows 1 (Gulwa) Chiefs 1 (Pule)
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Fredericks) Lamontville Golden Arrows 0
2004-2005
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Mbesuma x2) Lamontville Golden Arrows 2 (Gumbi, Gulwa)
Lamontville Golden Arrows 1 (Phakathi) Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Radebe)
2005-2006
Lamontville Golden Arrows 1 (Khanyeza) Kaizer Chiefs 3 (Djiehoua, McCarthy, Moshoeu)
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Chalwe, Kaizer Motaung Junior) Lamontville Golden Arrows 1 (Khanyeza)
2006 – 2007
Lamontville Golden Arrows 1 (Khanyeza) Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Nkosi, Spencer)
Head to Head Since 2000-2001 league only
| P | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | |
| Chiefs | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 14 | 1 |
| Arrows | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 15 | -1 |
Chiefs Vs Golden Arrows with Ernst Middendorp as Chiefs Coach
PSL 2005 - 2006
September 2005
Lamontville Golden Arrows1 (Khanyeza) Kaizer Chiefs 3 (Djiehoua, McCarthy, Moshoeu)
December 2005
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Chalwe, Motaung Jnr) Lamontville Golden Arrows 1 (Khanyeza)
PSL 2006 – 2007
October 2006
Lamontville Golden Arrows 1 (Khanyeza) Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Nkosi, Spencer)
Cup SAA Supa8 ¼ Finals
August 2006
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Nkosi, Obua pen) Lamontville Golden Arrows 0
Head to Head Chiefs Vs Golden Arrows with Ernst Middendorp as Chiefs Coach
| P | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | |
| Chiefs | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 6 |
