‘Chuck Norris’ gets the job done

Despite the plethora of scoring opportunities that went abegging for Pirates, Chiefs did a good job in general in this match. Baxter was the more adaptable coach tactically, changing shape prematch and then later in the game once again. His positional usage of Parker, Billiat and Nange was very impressive. Although his Manyama selection didn’t work, he was quick to change at halftime. This was a decisive day’s work for the British coach.

Bucs’ general performance going forward was not bad. On another day, Peprah or Dlamini or Dzvukamanja finish their missed chances and it’s Pirates with a 2-1 win instead. That’s not to say that the omission of Jele and the selection of Motshwari didn’t backfire. The latter was completely off the pace and his replacement, Abel Mabaso, wasn’t much better. Mabasa was left on the bench and Gabadinho Mhango was in the stands! With that finishing power on the field, perhaps we would be sitting here talking about Chiefs’ defensive woes after a Pirates win! It’s now four wins and four draws for Baxter in the league as Amakhosi coach against Pirates, with no defeats. Surely there is something right that he is doing in the Soweto Derby to be getting it right almost all the time, and if he is kept beyond this season, it might be a while before we see the next derby victory for Pirates, who continue to play Chiefs off the park derby match after derby match, but without capitalising on the chances created. In addition, the Glamour Boys have won three consecutive league matches against Ezimnyama Ngenkani for the first time since 1991.