Without Simphiwe
Tshabalala, Bernand Parker and Knowledge Musona through injuries, Chiefs
brought in Willard Katsande replacing Simphiwe Tshabalala, Katlego Mphela and
Kingston Nkhatha to the starting line-up.
The match needed
18 kicks from the penalty spot to decide the winner after the 0-0 fulltime
stalemate. Let us say, 19 kicks, as George Maluleka missed the regulation time
penalty that was awarded to George Lebese when Rooi Mahamutsa felled him wide
on the right. Maluleka had to hit the same spot twice, the left top corner of
the cross bar.
Chiefs
controlled the first half, while Pirates displayed a very mature brand of football.
If that match was anything to go by, the local game grew by leaps and bounds.
The passing, ball control and decision making was excellent.
Both teams took
particular shapes and each unit engaging the opposite in direct confrontation
and combat seen in the 2014 Brazil Fifa World Cup. The ball moved from the back
into the midfield and passed through to the final third. The players showed a
lot of trust in their teammate’s abilities by passing and supporting the player
in case they needed an outlet to pass the ball.
To match the
daring passing, the ball control surpassed the expectation as the midfield
battles saw players turned and ran with the ball in a congested area looking
for spaces in the attacking third. This exhibition by both teams excited the
crowds and coaches alike; however, the conclusion of the attacks never matched
the moves from behind through the preparation zone.
The wing play
and penetration into the final third became the point of weakness of the whole
match by both teams. The ball was never played wide often enough, and in rare
moment that the ball was played to crossing areas, it was done very late with
defenders already in good defending areas.
The Chiefs
defence kept their line and shape and easily thwarted each attack from Pirates.
Given that it is the beginning of the season, defensive and midfield work takes
priority, as much as physical conditioning. The teams showed exceptional quick
passing and ball control skills. The interception by both sets of defenders
proved sharp enough as they blocked each other’s attack completely restricting
the entire match to less than 3 shots on target for each team.
One hopes that
the Zimbabwean football fraternity watched and took notes of how the game
should be played. There is no need to photocopy the whole match, but the
concept of the game should fundamentally be followed. Highlanders, How Mine,
Dynamos and Caps United of the Castle Lager Premier League played a close
resemblance of the game.
Pirates and
Chiefs did not play the way the Dutch or Germany played, but it showed they
followed the modern trends of the game. If the rest of the ABSA Premier League
teams and the National First Division follow the same pattern, the South
African football can be said to have come of age. One hopes that it only gets
better.
