Both Kaizer Chiefs and Cape Town City failed to get back to winning ways as their DStv Premiership sold-out affair ended 0-0 on Saturday afternoon at Athlone Stadium.
Siyethemba Sithebe was the most notable man in the starting line-up of Chiefs having last featured in the second match of the season against Mamelodi Sundowns in August.
Surprisingly, playing 90 minutes, the former AmaZulu FC man didn’t show much signs of rustiness even though he lost some steam in the second half.
The match began with high intensity at both ends but moments later the home side seemed to be enjoying more ball possession than Chiefs.
Amakhosi were looking to catch the Citizens on the wings with the speed of Ashley Du Preez and Pule Mmodi. But the Soweto giants were struggling somewhat to make box entries, losing so much possession when they reached the final third.
City also looked dangerous when they drove forward, with Khanyisa Mayo, Jaedin Rhodes and Taahir Goedeman on the frontline.
In the 29th minute, City’s Aprocius Petrus unleashed what looked like an ambitious shot just after crossing the centre line. However, his attempt was parried away by Bruce Bvuma, forcing the corner-kick.
BRUCE BVUMA’S BACK-TO-BACK SAVES
Eric Tinkler’s men had a couple of chances to open the scoring as Chiefs couldn’t clear the lines from the corner-kick. Bvuma made a few stops to deny them a goal.
The match went to the interval with a goalless scoreline on the board.
Just in the first minute of the second half, Darren Keet made an excellent save denying Mduduzi Shabalala’s powerful shot from the edge of the box.
Three minutes later, Wandisile Duba took on Keanu Cupido, bursting into the box but was unfortunate to send his attempt inches past Keet’s far post.
Cavin Johnson’s troops had more fight in the second stanza, exerting pressure on the hosts. City couldn’t dominate as they were in the first 45 minutes.
In the last 15 minutes, the match was evenly balanced as both sides remained cautious in order to avoid conceding in a critical phase of the game.
Both teams didn’t make any advancements on the log standings but they remain in the top half of the table.
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