Daniel Msendami’s decisive performance saw Marumo Gallants claim a win against Kaizer Chiefs in the Betway Premiership at FNB Stadium in Soweto on Saturday afternoon.
Glody Lilepo was on the scoresheet for Chiefs early in the first-half while Matome Mathiane and Msendami found a goal on each half as Gallants collected maximum points on the road.
The Glamour Boys welcomed Gallants at FNB Stadium with an unwanted run of form, which saw them go five league matches without a victory.
In those games, Chiefs drew three against Cape Town City FC, TS Galaxy, and Chippa United. They also suffered back-to-back defeats against the KZN clubs Richards Bay FC and Golden Arrows.
Before going five outings without collecting maximum points, Chiefs last had a taste of victory against Magesi FC at the beginning of March.
In a must-win match for Chiefs, Bahlabane Ba Ntwa had a promising start to the encounter, creating most of the scoring chances, but they were let down by the decision-making in the final third.
GLODY LILEPO POWERFUL STRIKE GAVE CHIEFS THE LEAD
On the other hand, Chiefs used their first goal-scoring opportunity in the 10th minute to find the back of the net through a powerful strike from Glody Lilepo.
Shortly after Chiefs scored, Gallants came close to finding the equaliser through a curling free-kick by Thapelo Mokobodi. However, it was saved by goalkeeper Bruce Bvuma.
As the Naturena-based side looked to be going to the half-time break leading 1-0, Gallants levelled matters late in the first-half through Matome Mathiane.
In the last 45 minutes of the match, Chiefs came close to making the score line 2-1 with a Wandile Duba strike, but it was kept out by the upright of the goal.
The Bloemfontein-based side scored the winning goal in the 70th minute through Daniel Msendami as Chiefs went six matches without claiming a victory.
Msendami was outstanding throughout the game as he walked away with the Man of the Match award.
As a result of suffering a defeat at home, Amakhosi have dropped out of the top eight with five games remaining in the league.
In other results in the Premiership, Amazulu FC edged Golden Arrows 1-0 in the KZN Derby at Mpumalanga Stadium, while SuperSport United played to a 1-1 draw with Polokwane City FC at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.
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