Thrilling battle of two halves
Amakhosi and Brazilians give fans a taste of what’s to come
KAIZER Chiefs edged an hour of this uncompromising Absa Premiership encounter, then Mamelodi Sundowns finished strongly, but in the end neither could shake off their Christmas break rustiness enough to prevail.
Surely the constant breaks in the PSL are taking their toll on teams. This juicy encounter between the two greatest foes for trophies in the past three seasons, a replay of December’s Telkom Knockout final in Durban, took its time to live up to expectations.
Once Chiefs, the 2013 and 2015 champions, and 2014 title holders Sundowns had shaken the beach sand out of their joints from this past Christmas break, though, a good crowd were treated to a more flowing, end-to-end, finish.
Chiefs’ 3-1 humbling, in that Telkom final, where Downs’ coach Pitso Mosimane appeared to have had Amakhosi tactically wellsussed, had pundits wondering what Amakhosi counterpart Steve Komphela’s response would be on his home turf.
The result was a far more compact Chiefs, who worked themselves silly breaking down — managing to create some decent chances — a Sundowns side who, on this occasion, initially forsook expansive football to frustrate Amakhosi. After soaking up pressure, the Brazilians finally unleashed their fluid front-runners in the final 20 minutes.
If the entire game had been played with the adventurous spirit and carefree running from both sides of the final 10 minutes, it would have been a classic.
Komphela made just two changes from the side that ground out a 2-1 win against Bidvest Wits in Cape Town before the recess. Mulomowandau Mathoho came in at centreback for Morgan Gould, and George Maluleka as playmaker for Bernard Parker.
Mosimane replaced rightback Asavela Mbekile with Ramahlwe Mphahlele from their 2-0 victory against Orlando Pirates at Loftus Versfeld.
A BATTLE: Sundowns goalie Denis Onyango punches the ball away from Chiefs striker Camaldine Abraw and Downs Thabo Nthethe in the match at FNB Stadium yesterday
Chiefs suffered an early setback when Sula Matovu had to replace an injured George Lebese in the first 10 minutes.
Amakhosi had come out pushing for an opener, as Camaldine Abraw shot high from outside the area. Downs appeared to have the muscle to stifle the home team out of the game. But Komphela’s men continued to probe cautiously through a midfield melée.
Reneilwe Letsholonyane played Abraw down the left, the Togolese having to wait for men to join him in the box, before eventually squeezing a shot at Downs keeper Denis Onyango.
Keagan Dolly’s speculative drive into fresh air in the 40th was Downs’ best chance of the first half and summed up a 45 minutes where the Pretoria team gave a display of running off their Christmas turkey, though with the direction of the euphemistic headless chicken.
To reinforce that Chiefs were marginally sharper, Abraw got to a near-post header wide from Siphiwe Tshabalala’s corner.
The former Free State Stars striker’s hard running continued to be Chiefs’ primary weapon early in the second half, as Abraw held off Thabo Nthethe to steer a low shot wide.
In the 58th minute Maluleka, through one-on-one as the Downs defence finally opened to pressure, slipped an attempted finish past Onyango’s left upright when it would have been easier to hit the target.
Substitute Mogakolodi Ngele — on for Themba Zwane at the break — managed just Downs’ second attempt at goal in the 64th minute, and it was just as weak, hit straight at Reyaad Pieterse. For a team used to creating a high ratio of chances, and having players from all positions converting them, it was a noticeably flat attacking performance. Or were Downs content to flood the midfield, play for an away draw, and potentially sneak a win by frustrating Chiefs, then sneaking a goal?
If the rope-a-dope was the tactic it almost worked in the 72nd, when Khama Biliat’s shot was blocked and Hlompo Kekana blasted a rebound over.
Wayne Arendse forced a save from Pieterse at full stretch as Downs now certainly had come off the ropes. Tebogo Langerman reinforced that notion, striking the crossbar in the 85th. Chiefs regained attacking composure of their own at the end, but neither side could win this uncompromising match-up on the night.