Chiefs fail to give fans perfect 53rd birthday gift at FNB Stadium
Kaizer Chiefs celebrated their 53rd birthday with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Sekhukhune United in a DStv Premiership clash at FNB Stadium on Saturday evening.
Prior to the game, coach Arthur Zwane had challenged his troops to rise to the occasion, but he was left disappointed as Amakhosi failed to deliver a great birthday gift to their fans.
Chiefs put in a lukewarm performance in front of their supporters, with Zwane looking somewhat dejected after the referee blew his whistle at the end of 90 minutes.
The defeat also saw Chiefs’ two-match unbeaten run end in the league following two wins on the bounce against rivals Orlando Pirates and Golden Arrows.
Chiefs had a slow and shaky start, with Sekhukhune dominating the first few minutes of the game and threatening the hosts’ goal.
Zwane’s men were disorganised for the most part of the first 45 minutes, giving away the ball cheaply and failing to put together several passes.
HOW DID CHIEFS DISSAPOINT FANS
However, as the game progressed, Chiefs came alive as they created goal-scoring opportunities.
Keagan Dolly, Nkosingiphile Ngcobo and Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana had a go at goal, but their efforts failed to trouble the Sekhukkhune goalie.
In the 33rd minute, Bimenyimana was presented with a golden chance to open the scoring as he found himself alone in the box, but his header went wide of goal.
That proved to be the last real opportunity of the half.
The halftime talk by Brandon Truter was seemingly fruitful as Sekhukhune started the second half like a house on fire and scored through Vusumzi Mncube in the 49th minute of the game.
Chiefs started to play more offensively after the goal as Zwane threw more men forward in search of the equaliser. But Sekhukhune’s defence led by former Chiefs player Daniel Cardoso remained resolute.
Ashley Du Preez and Edmilson Dove came close to scoring, with the latter’s effort in the 73rd minute going inches wide.
Amakhosi failed to find the goal as Sekhukhune record their second win in a row.
And with the victory, Sekhukhune jumped up to 10th place on the log standing with 15 points after 15 games, while Chiefs missed an opportunity to close the gap on leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.
The Soweto giants, in fourth place are now 13 points behind Sundowns with 15 matches remaining in the league.
RELATED STORY: Zitha Kwinika explains how Kaizer Chiefs can improve defence