Stellies do the double over Chiefs
THE youthful Stellenbosch FC side held out for a 1-0 win over beleaguered Kaizer Chiefs in their Dstv Premiership clash at the Danie Craven Stadium yesterday.
The outcome saw Stellenbosch move up to sixth place on the standings with 39 points. They join Chiefs (4th) and Orlando Pirates (5th) who are also on 39 points but separated by goal difference. It is the second time this season that a team have defeated Chiefs twice in Premiership fixtures. The other team to achieve this feat is Royal AM.
Chiefs’ interim co-coaches Dillon Sheppard and Arthur Zwane who took over after the departure of Stuart Baxter, made five changes to the side that lost to Supersport last week.
Keagan Dolly returned from suspension and joined the famous ‘CBD’ triumvirate alongside Khama Billiat and Leonardo Castro, who replaced Samir Nurkovi .
Njabulo Ngcobo replaced Phathutshedzo Nange in a central defensive role, and Happy Mashiane was handed a rare run-on slot ahead of Reeve Frosler. Nkosingiphile Ngcobo made way for Sabelo Radebe.
The fair-sized crowd gave the teams a rousing welcome and made for a carnival atmosphere at the Winelands venue.
Chiefs held the upper hand from the outset and that was very much the case for the rest of the first half. After 20 minutes of play, they forced three corners and that reflected the pressure they created although they did not fashion any real scoring chances.
An errant throw-in by Chiefs midway through the first half deep inside opposition territory, saw Stellenbosch capitalise on the turnover with transition play at great speed.
Stellenbosch threaded passes down the middle of the field before striker Judas Moseamedi spotted a yawning gap in Chiefs’ retreating defence. His partner David van Rooyen rounded Chiefs’ defence and pounced on the pass before unleashing a scoring strike. Brandon Petersen, Chiefs’ goalkeeper should have done better after Van Rooyen’s shot hit the underside of his body as he dived in vain to parry the ball (1-0).
In the 24th minute, the speed of the Stellenbosch’s front runners again posed a problem for Chiefs but this time Moseamedi’s shot rolled wide of the upright.
For the rest of the first half, Chiefs produced several decent build-up plays which were penetrative, but by the time the half-time whistle blew, they had a mere one shot on goal.
Stellenbosch’s high press meant that whenever the side gained possession their front runners posed a problem. However, they were unable to inflict further first-half damage.
Seven minutes into second-half play Stellenbosch came within a whisker of a second goal, but Petersen saved well from a Moseamedi strike after Stellenbosch midfielder Sibongiseni Mthethwa had split the opposition defence with a great pass.
For the rest of the second half, Chiefs continued to enjoy possession advantage and towards the end, this figure rose to 58%. Despite this advantage, Stellenbosch looked the likelier to score whenever they managed to take play into Chiefs’ goalmouth.