Amakhosi, AmaZulu cap night of stalemates
3 goalless games mark dour round
Kaizer Chiefs failed to bounce back from their Telkom Knockout semifinal elimination after a frustrating 0-0 draw against AmaZulu on a rainy night at King Zwelithini Stadium.
Instead, Amakhosi must thank goalkeeper and man of the match Itumeleng Khune whose penalty stop saved his team from blushes.
Khune – who blocked Rhulani Manzini’s penalty in the second half – summed it better in a post-match TV interview when he said “we gave the fans nothing tonight”.
Following their TKO 1-0 loss to Bidvest Wits last weekend, Chiefs coach Steve Komphela would have hoped to fend off pressure but it was not meant to be as AmaZulu proved resilient at home.
Komphela reshuffled his starting line-up that played Wits and went for a more offensive tactics, rarely entrusting both Gustavo Paez and Bernard Parker to spearhead the attack.
The changes strangely saw Siphiwe Tshabalala and Eric Mathoho settling for berths on the bench, while Zimbabwean defender Teenage Hadebe made his official debut after recovering from a long term ankle injury.
Usuthu got off to a bright start with Siyethemba Mnguni forcing Khune into two saves in the opening 10 minutes. Khune had a very busy first stanza while his AmaZulu counterpart Boalefa Pule was virtually on holiday, thanks to Chiefs’ inability to register shots on target.
The hosts were, by far, the best team in the first period but their indecisiveness in front of goal let them down in numerous occasions.
However, Amakhosi nearly stole the show midway through the first 45 minutes but Philani Zulu blazed his shot over the crossbar from 12yards out after being teered up by Parker.
Second half substitute Tshabalala changed the complex- ion of the game for Komphela’s men but AmaZulu held on until the end, despite finishing the game with 10 men due to Phumlani Gumede’s late red card.
Scarcity of goals in PSL persisted last night as Polokwane City and Maritzburg United played to a goalless draw at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, and same for Platinum Stars v Bloemfontein Celtic fixture at Royal Bafokeng.
At Goble Park, Free State Stars and Chippa United also played to a draw – 1-1. Edward Manqele netted for Stars, while James Okwuosa scored the equaliser for the visitors.
‘‘ We gave the fans nothing tonight .