History on Amakhosi’s side
Phunya Sele Sele yet to find a win against Chiefs in eight seasons
If statistics are anything to go by, Kaizer Chiefs have a good chance to record their first league victory of the season when they host Bloemfontein Celtic at FNB tonight (7.30pm).
Going into this fixture, Chiefs have not lost a league game to Celtic in the past eight seasons. The last Phunya Sele Sele league victory against Amakhosi was 1-0 in the 2009/10 campaign.
During his three-year barren streak at Chiefs from 2015 to 2018, Celtic coach Steve Komphela won two of six league matches against his current employers, drawing four.
History and statistics may back Chiefs but current league form makes Celtic the favourites. The Free Statebased outfit have won all their three opening league fixtures and are the only side in the league yet to concede a goal.
Meanwhile, Chiefs have had a lacklustre start in league as they are still winless in four games, with three draws and a defeat. Amakhosi’s only win this term was a 3-0 thumping of Free State Stars in the MTN8 quarterfinals.
This encounter is eagerly anticipated because it’ll be Komphela’s first return to FNB since leaving the Soweto giants in April. He might have flopped at Chiefs, but his inspiring start at Celtic has raised expectations that he may upset Amakhosi tonight.
Having made himself sceptical of statistics during his Chiefs tenure by stating “stats are like bikinis – they do not reveal anything”, it’ll be intriguing to see if Komphela rewrites history by guiding Celtic to their first win against Chiefs in eight years.