Chiefs back in title hunt
Amakhosi retain top spot in the league on goal difference after a deserved home victory
KAIZER Chiefs reasserted their title ambitions by winning a fourth match in succession to move level on points with Golden Arrows at the top of the Absa Premiership log standings.
Goals from defender Lorenzo Gordinho and midfield star George Lebese gave Amakhosi victory at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. They go top on goal difference. Arrows earlier won 1-0 at home to Chippa United in KwaMashu.
It was also the fourth time in a row Amakhosi have kept a clean sheet, scoring seven goals in the process.
Chiefs were first out of their blocks as they bossed possession with George Maluleka, Lebese and Hendrick Ekstein pulling the strings in midfield.
Ajax, however, had the first real chance as early as the third minute when Daniel Cardoso failed to deal with a long ball into the box. The ball fell into the path of Nathan Paulse but the lanky striker was put off by an advancing Itumeleng Khune.
Chiefs continued to enjoy the lion’s share of possession in the first half as they pushed the ball forward with plenty of purpose but failed to create clear scoring opportunities.
Steve Komphela, who has named seven different starting lineups in as many matches in all competitions, had made two changes to his lineup with Cardoso and Kgotso Moleko coming in for Erick Mathoho and Ramahlwe Mphahelele.
The first real chance for Chiefs came five minutes before half time when William Twala delivered a perfect cross from the right for Sibusiso Khumalo, but the leftback directed his header across the face of goal and inches off target under pressure from Rivaldo Coetzee.
The Urban Warriors, who battled throughout to find lone target man Paulse, could have opened the scoring on the stroke of half time had it not been for the tenacity of Willard Katsande, whose touch was enough to take the ball away from the path of Lebohang Mokoena, who was ready to pull the trigger on the volley at the far post.
Chiefs should have opened the scoring immediately after the restart. Ekstein was gifted the ball by Erick Chipeta on the edge of the Ajax box but the creative midfielder took too long to pull the trigger and his FLYING CLEARANCE: Willard Katsande of Kaizer Chiefs clears during their Absa Premiership match against Ajax Cape Town at Moses Mabhida Stadium yesterday shot, with only the goalkeeper to beat, was blocked away for a corner.
But they found the target from the resultant corner, which was well worked by Lebese and Maluleka, the latter delivering a pin-point cross.
Gordinho headed home at the far post for his third goal of the season.
Ajax thought they had equalised a minute later when Paulse tapped the ball into the back of the net from a pin-point cross but the referee blew for offside, though TV replays showed that the striker was marginally played onside by Gordinho.
With the match approaching its conclusion and Ajax trying to snatch a late equaliser, Lebese made the result safe in added time when he broke through the Ajax defence and cleverly slotted the ball past goalkeeper Brandon Petersen.
The victory will be sweet for coach Komphela, who had failed to get the better of Ajax in three matches last season, drawing both home and away in the league and losing in the MTN8 final.
Ajax slumped to their third defeat in five matches and they now find themselves mired in the early season quagmire on two points from six matches.
Amakhosi and the Urban Warriors have met in 34 league matches since 1999/2000, with the former recording 14 victories compared to nine for the Capetonians, and 11 matches have been drawn. — TMG Digital
It was also the fourth time in a row that they have kept a clean sheet, scoring seven goals in the process