One man Orlando Pirates fans will really love to love, it is Sekou Camara of Santos. With the same passion, Kaizer Chiefs fans will not be having nice vibes for the former Jomo Cosmos player. Camara scored the goal that ended Amakhosi's unbeaten run and collected maximum points for the visiting Cape Town team. The Absa Premiership match played at the Rand Stadium in Johannesburg was a poor affair by Chiefs who seemed to have their thought glued to the weekend Soweto derby as they lost concentration to concede an 87th-minute goal.
There was a few chances for both sides here and there but still no clear cut domination of the Naturena Boys. Amakhosi had Siphiwe Tshabalala crushing the crossbar with a 20-metre free kick just 15 minutes into play. They dominated possession especially in midfield but their penetration was restricted to the middle third of the pitch. The People’s Team seemed to be playing for a point and made it difficult for Amakhosi to enter the final third. Bafana Bafana player, Reneilwe Letsholonyane played a vital role in midfield for Chiefs but his contribution was restricted to futile long-range shots.
There was better luck for the other Soweto giants, Orlando Pirates, as they picked up a point on the road at the Princess Magogo Stadium from Amazulu. This may be the difference on Saturday as they ride the confidence wave against a demoralised Chiefs. What was disappointing for the Bucs is how much they fired blanks. They Happy People had been prolific in front of goal, but they failed to make meaningful impact, which will worry coach Ruud Krol. Chiefs may actually come out as a wounded lion against Pirates as they seek to salvage lost pride and atone for poor results.
AmaZulu were never in the match and were content to contain the attacking Pirates forward who were ably supported by the gifted Andile Jali. Clifford Mgomeni fought crucial midfield battles and had a shot going wide from a good lay-off outside the penalty box. Thulasizwe Mbuyane, Dikgang Mabalane and Daine Klate combined well and found Usuthu not giving anything away.
Pirates could have done with Tlou Segolela earlier on, but when 240km/hour came in, they never bothered utilising him and his speed, shifting the attack into other channel. It can be misconstrued that they wanted to use him as a decoy, letting him get the attention and then taking the attack line in the other direction. As it turned out, it was a naive case of hope without any intelligence. The Sea Robbers pinned AmaZulu and could have retreated once in a while and then catapulted using the man the speed traps cannot detect.
Pirates striker Chiukepo Msowoya brought the best out of Amazulu keeper in the 36th minute when Mbuyane flew down the AmaZulu left flank and played a measured pass to Msowoya who held off a defender and hit a low shot. Goalkeeper Mzimela was equal to the task and parried the ball to safety. Pirates will need to increase their game for the weekend derby in order to kick-out Chiefs as they did in the MTN-8 semi-final.
Moroka Swallows lost a home match 0-1 to Golden Arrows after Siyabonga Nkosi was on target in the 76th minute. Maritzburg United followed their crushing of Mamelodi Sundowns in the Telkom Knockout Cup with a draw with another Tswane team with a 2-2 scoreline. Supersport needed a crucial 74th minute goal from defender Morgan Gould, to rescue a point. Sundowns made their comeback with a crucial 2-0 win over Free State Stars by goals from Mathew Pattison and Mabhuti Khenyeza. Bloemfontein Celtics beat Platinum Stars by 2 goals to 1 while Mpumalanga Black Aces came from behind to draw 1-1 with visiting Bidvest Wits.
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