Mduduzi Shabalala netted a brace to give Kaizer Chiefs a 4-1 victory over Orbit College FC in a Betway Premiership encounter at FNB Stadium in Soweto on Tuesday night.
As a result of the crucial win, Chiefs moved to the second position on the league table with 22 points, the same number of points as log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, who have a superior goal difference.
The Glamour Boys welcomed Orbit at home, aiming to collect maximum points for the second time in a row after beating Durban City FC in their last league game at the Moses Mabhida Stadium last Friday.
Before claiming a 1-0 win over Durban City, the Soweto giants were winless in their last four league matches, with a defeat against Sekhukhune United and draws against Marumo Gallants, AmaZulu FC, and Siwelele FC.
With Chiefs high on confidence after winning their last encounter, they had a flying start to the match, causing trouble for the Orbit College defence.
Amakhosi drew the first blood in the third minute after Thabiso Monyane played a perfect square pass to Mduduzi Shabalala, who converted from a close range.
MDUDUZI SHABALALA PRODUCES IMPRESSIVE DISPLAY AGAINST ORBIT COLLEGE
Chiefs continued to dominate the match after creating most of the scoring opportunities; however, they could not double their chances. The match went into the half-time break with Chiefs leading 1-0.
In the second half, Chiefs came close to doubling the lead in the opening through Etiosa Ighodaro, who ballooned his shot over the crossbar. In the 50th minute, Monyane also had a chance to score his first goal at the club; however, his low shot deflected off an Orbit College defender.
The Phefeni outfit eventually found the second goal of the match in the 61st minute with a strike from Shabalala, who scored his second goal of the match. Orbit College pulled one back through Ayanda Lukhele to bring the scoreline to 2-1 in the 70th minute.
Shortly after, Mfundo Vilakazi scored a third goal for Kaizer Chiefs, while Flavio Silva scored the fourth in the 90th minute to guarantee his side all three points and move second on the league table after 11 matches played.
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