The Facts

Six of the best

In total Solinas has played Siyabonga Ngezana and Daniel Cardoso six times as a pair in central defence in 10 league matches this season

Regular starters

Ngezana has featured in most league games with nine starts while Cardoso played eight

Doomed

Cardoso and Eric Mathoho played together in the first two league matches before Mathoho was dropped following a 3-1 defeat to Bidvest Wits

Hit for four

The Cardoso/Ngezana partnership lasted four successive matches before Ngezana and Mario Booysen started in a 2-0 league win against Free State Stars

Better combo

After the win against Stars, Solinas turned to the Cardoso/Ngezana combination for the next two league games against AmaZulu (2-0) and Highlands Park (0-0)

Worst duo

In the last two league matches against Polokwane City and Orlando Pirates, Solinas preferred the Ngezana/Booysen partnership but it didn’t work out as Chiefs lost both those matches

Cup runneth over

In the four cup matches played by Chiefs this season, three different partnerships have been used, with the Cardoso/ Ngezana partnership used in two of those. Teenage Hadebe and Ngezana played in the one match Chiefs lost while Booysen partnered Mathoho in the last one they won on penalties against Black Leopards