He’s become a fan favourite as a midfield enforcer since joining Kaizer Chiefs, but Phathutshedzo Nange was delighted to show his qualities in the opposition penalty area when he scored his first Amakhosi goal in Sunday’s 2-0 win against Sekhukhune United.

“It felt great to have scored. I was looking forward to this moment and it was really special. As a player, these are the moments you look forward to, which is scoring goals and winning games,” says Nange of the late goal that secured the three points for Amakhosi.

Now that the midfielder has got off the mark for Chiefs, he is looking to continue putting in the hard work to help the team maintain their good recent form.

His goal against Sekhukhune was set up by Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, who was the man of the match against Sekhukhune, and for whom Nange reserved high praise.

“It was a great performance from a class player. There is nothing else I can say. We all know how classy he is, and he was really good against Sekhukhune,” Nange enthused about his creative teammate.

On the game itself, which came with the challenge of a loss of key personnel given the Covid-19 outbreak that has beset the squad, Nange was proud of the character shown by the team.

“I think we did great as a team and we managed to collect three points, which was so important for us. We are proud of what we did for the Club, the Chairman, the supporters and management. It shows that we have depth in our squad. We are Kaizer Chiefs and we are one team, so everyone will represent the badge during the season. We will continue working and fighting together,” Nange vowed defiantly.

Nange is now looking to Sunday’s game and the challenge of Royal AM and after a string of positive results recently, he is confident Chiefs can again put up a good showing.

“We go to Royal AM to fight as a collective and to make sure we continue our winning run by dishing out another great performance. All that matters is that we collect three points,” says Nange.

Chiefs have improved their fortunes drastically since their home loss to Royal AM back in September and have lost just one of their last ten league games since, climbing from 13^th place to second in the standings.

The major improvements that have been made are not lost on Nange.

“Every game that we play we want to win and will give our best. We have good momentum and are in a good space. Every one of the guys can be in the starting eleven and we will go there with a positive mindset”.

Nange has appeared in 12 DStv Premiership games for Chiefs this campaign. He came off the bench to score for Chiefs against Sekhukhune, entering the game in the 83rd minute to replace Leonardo Castro and finding the net in that cameo appearance.

It was the first time this season that he appeared as a substitute. In the 11 league games he has started, he has completed 90 minutes in seven of these games and is one of Chiefs’ most consistent performers this season.