Chilli Boys share spoils
CHIPPA United grabbed a dramatic, late share of the spoils against Bidvest Wits as the teams played to a 1-1 draw in their Absa Premiership soccer clash at a hot Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth yesterday. Goals from the Chilli Boys’ Kristopher Bergman and the visitors’ Vincent Pule saw the teams take a point each.
There were promising signs for Gavin Hunt’s base-dwellers in the mid-week when Wits beat SuperSport United.
They also came into the fixture having not lost a match at the Bay stadium – and managed to retain that record.
But Hunt was disappointed to have conceded the Bergman goal in the 81st minute.
So much so, that he failed to attend the obligatory after-match media conference.
Teboho Moloi has always underlined the importance of winning home matches and may have been disappointed that his team were not able to bring home maximum points in their own yard.
But all considered, he will probably settle for the point.
Wits, however, should consider themselves fortunate, with Chippa United missing golden opportunities in the second half to score and consolidate their position in the top eight of the Absa Premiership log.
The game started at a slow pace, with both teams keeping tight defensive lines.
The home side was first to threaten and showed their hunger for a goal in the opening minutes with an attempt by Linda Mntambo which went wide of the post.
Wits drew first blood in the 20th minute, when the Chilli Boys were caught napping in the penalty area and striker Pule pulled off a thunderous shot that gave the Clever Boys an early lead.
From then on, it was the Port Elizabeth outfit who had plenty of chances as they showed their eagerness to level matters.
They were hoping a free kick by Mxolisi Machuphu would give them the equaliser, but Wits goalkeeper Darren Keet snatched the shot to the net in mid-air to deny the Chilli Boys a goal.
Chippa United also missed a glorious opportunity when a Machuphu attempt in the 40th minute just missed the post.
Communication in the Chilli Boys’ camp started breaking down toward the end of the first half and careless mistakes came.
However, they regrouped and began to look more and more dangerous up front, with Mntambo giving Keet a headache with back-to-back shots at goal.
The introduction of experienced new signing Thabo Rakhale brought more sta- bility in Chippa United’s attack and they were fighting hard to level matters.
But Chippa’s men only found their groove in the dying minutes of the game, for Bergman to score brilliantly from range.
Pressure started mounting in the Clever Boys camp, and they incurred a yellow card for a dangerous tackle outside the box.
Mntambo’s shot did not to find the target – and Chippa settled for the draw.