One of the finer moments of this past Saturday’s Soweto derby between Kaizer Chiefs and their arch-rivals Orlando Pirates, was the battle for control of the game in midfield. With both teams filled with quality in this area of play, it always going to take one special performance to stand out above the rest and allow for one team to get an upper hand over the opposition.

For the Chiefs fans it was more than a welcome sight to see Tinashe Nengomasha battling with the likes of Onyekachi Okonkwo and Benedict Vilakazi in the centre of the park, and for the most part coming out on top. The Chiefs number eight was in no mood to give away any quarter and was resolute in a defensive midfield role.

The 2003 – 2004 PSL player of the year has been gaining in confidence as the season has worn on and it has shown with a number of recent displays as he has played a vital role in allowing Chiefs to have gone unbeaten in their last four PSL games.

While many were left in awe with Tinashe’s sublime touches and deft tackling on Saturday, the Chiefs midfield strongman has put his resurgence in form down to the assistance he received from Amakhosi coach Ernst Middendorp.

“Last season was one I would definitely like to forget, when the new season kicked off I knew I had to work harder and forget what happened last season” commented Tinashe.

He went on further to add “I had an open talk with the coach and he made me understand that I am capable of better performances, so I have been giving everything I have at training and in matches and it has helped me climb out of the hole I was in”.

With help from the coach and a number of his team mates, Tinashe believes that he has been able to turn the corner, but feels he still has a way to go towards being at his ultimate best.

As he added “what I like about the coach is that he is honest and he lets you know straight out as to what one needs to do to improve his game, his honesty and the assistance of a number of the guys has helped to get my game back again.”

With Tinashe seemingly playing in the zone at the moment, as well as picking up the man of the match award against Pirates, he is adamant that his feet are firmly on the ground and that Chiefs upcoming league game against Maritzburg United is a must-win affair.

“I do feel that it is important for us to remain focused ahead of this weekends game and put in the same kind of effort that we did against Pirates, and we should not let our opponents recent results affect the way we approach the game” said Tinashe.

He is also in no doubt that Maritzburg will not let up in trying to pull one over Chiefs and he is also wary of the threat posed by the likes of Steve Lekoelea and Lynch Pule in midfield, as well as up front with Kabamba Musasa and the ever deadly Sandile Ndlovu.

Commenting on the prospect of a mouth-watering duel between himself and Lekoelea in the midfield, Tinashe added “Steve is always a handful to deal with, and can punish a team if they give the opportunity to be able to send crosses into dangerous areas. He is also an excellent striker of the dead ball as he demonstrated when he scored against Sundowns recently, so we need to ensure that he is unable to get past us in order to supply Sandile Ndlovu with the ammunition to score goals”.

With two games to go for the year, Chiefs are all fired up towards ending this part of the campaign on a winning note, Tinashe’s recent run of good form will go along way towards boosting Chiefs chances over Maritzburg United and Santos in the next week.

Tinashe has reiterated the fact that if The Amakhosi are to make a serious assault on the title, they need to work towards ending the year on a high note and keep up the pressure on the log leaders. Added to the recipe for league success will be to fight hard in every game, just as they did against Pirates. If this be achieved they will have found the formula for prolonging their title ambitions.