Chiefs tops as Bucs stay bottom
Out-of-sorts Pirates go down to bustling Bloemfontein Celtic
CHIEFS shot to the summit of the Absa Premiership standings for the first time this season to complete a confidence-building November in the title race.
The defending champions followed up a 4-1 midweek hammering of Polokwane City at home with a hard-fought away win for their first three victories on the trot this season.
In collecting nine points from a possible 12, Chiefs also beat Bidvest Wits with their only deficit of the month coming in a 1-0 defeat to Ajax Cape Town.
However, Amakhosi’s stay at the top of the table may be shortlived and they could be deposed by either second-placed Mamelodi Sundowns or Moroka Swallows in fourth. Sundowns and Swallows will slug it out at Loftus this afternoon.
In wet conditions in QwaQwa yesterday, Siyabonga Nkosi got his second consecutive start for Amakhosi. He rewarded coach Stuart Baxter with a clinical diving header past Stars’ keeper Daniel Agyei off a fine Siphiwe Tshabalala free kick to give Chiefs a half-time lead.
Before that, Stars found the net but Sadate Ouro-Akoriko was correctly flagged offside. The result means Steve Komphela’s men slumped to their fifth loss of the campaign.
Tshabalala grabbed a goal of his own in the fourth minute of added time to guarantee full points for the Glamour Boys.
Baxter was delighted with the result.
“We gave ourselves an advantage with the opening goal. Stars were very much in it and defended the box very well.
“But we kept playing until we eventually got the second goal,” he said.
A Bloemfontein Celtic side who were quicker to the ball took advantage of an out-of-sorts Orlando Pirates for a 3-2 win, writes Marc Strydom at Orlando Stadium last night.
Played in a strong, cold wind and, at the beginning of the second half, a storm and torrential downpour, Bucs, as they did in a laboured 1-0 away win to Maritzburg United in midweek, still looked jaded.
Celtic could have taken a three-goal lead into the break but their forwards, Musa Nyatama, Wandisile Letlabika, Lerato Manzini and Gabadinho Mhango, all shot wide.
Vuyani Ntanga’s half-volley flew past Senzo Meyiwa for the opener. As the storm soaked Orlando, Lennox Bacela ran down the left in the 56th, rounded Celtic goalkeeper Patrick Tignyemb, who slipped, and finished from a narrow angle.
Thabo Nthethe restored Celtic’s lead. Gumede brought down substitute Lerato Lamola in the area and referee Nasief Julius pointed to the spot. Nyatama, on a classy night, slotted the spotkick into the top-right corner in the 89th.
Nthethe then fouled Mbesuma in the box and Jali converted.
University of Pretoria halted a five-match winless streak with a 2-0 victory over AmaZulu, writes Kgomotso Sethusha at Tuks Stadium.
After weeks of despair, goals from Khethukuthula Zwane and Grant Kekana in either half eased pressure on Steve Barker.
AmaTuks have been unable to replicate the fantastic form which saw them finish in the top eight last season and panic has already started to set in.
But it was a gutsy AmaTuks side who turned up yesterday and it was evident they meant business when Zwane thundered in a brilliant free kick in the 26th minute.
Kekana added the second a minute into the second half, gliding past Carlington Nyadombo and Thamsanqa Teyise with some individual brilliance before hitting a low shot past goalkeeper Aubrey Mathibe.
Pressure had been mounting on the university side after a string of poor results, both home and away.
Barker’s side came into the game on the back of three successive defeats, their worst being a 3-0 loss to Polokwane City in their last game.
Usuthu had halted a depressing seven-game winless streak with a 2-0 in over Platinum Stars on Wednesday.
But Craig Rosslee’s men couldn’t build on their midweek success.
The body language of the Durbanites spoke of a team still stuck somewhere in the terminal of King Shaka International Airport as the coastal side never really got going.
Platinum Stars moved to third after strikes by Lindokuhle Mbatha and Robert Ng’ambi gave them a 2-1 win over Lamontville Golden Arrows for whom Jabulani Nene scored.