Wandile Duba and Ashley Du Preez lead Kaizer Chiefs goal celebrations as they look to gain some winning momentum in Polokwane. BackpagePix
THEY love Kaizer Chiefs out in Polokwane. And Amakhosi love it there. So much that they spent all of this week in the Limpopo capital.
Their stay there would be made all worthwhile should they beat Royal AM, whom they host at the Peter Mokaba Stadium early evening at 5.45pm. Chiefs beat another KwaZulu-Natal outfit – Richards Bay FC - at the 2010 Fifa World Cup venue midweek, Nasredinne Nabi’s men running out 2-1 winners despite playing over 40 minutes of the second half a man down following Reeve Frosler’s sending off just after the break.
Next Kaizer Chiefs Match!
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⚽️Kaizer Chiefs vs. Royal AM
👕First Team
🗓️Saturday 30 November 2024
🏟New Peter Mokaba Stadium
🕞17h45
🎟R60: Computicket, Shoprite: https://t.co/nSBHeT3ji1
📺SuperSport 202
📢Please come early!#Amakhosi4Life #AlwaysHome pic.twitter.com/W6lx2JZMlP
Backed by a pretty good and very vociferous crowd that cheered their every move, Chiefs managed to stave off an onslaught by the visitors who smelt blood after their opponents were numerically reduced.
Perhaps most impressive about that showing was that players who had previously not gotten game time used the opportunity they got to show Nabi that they are worthy of starting berths. Sibongiseni ‘Ox’ Mthethwa, Ashley du Preez and Pule Mmodi were particularly effective. Mthethwa was imperious in the heart of the field, breaking the opposition moves, initiating attacks and spraying passes like a player who is intent on making a statement.
Nabi was pleased to realise that he actually has some depth in his quad: “We are very happy with the players that started today – especially Ashley going forward, Ox gave an unbelievable performance and Pule did his job very well.”
They’ve no doubt left the coach with a pleasant headache ahead of Royal AM’s visit and on the strength of that showing the smart money should be on Chiefs to add three more points to their kitty.
Yet there were still some evident chinks in their armoury, their inability to kill the match off as a contest in the first half, one of those. Dominant for the initial stanza, Chiefs could easily have been 3-0 to the good at the break but had just Wandile Duba’s goal to show for their good effort. Both Given Msimango and Bradley Cross headed wide within five minutes of each other when scoring looked much easier.
Such will have to be fixed if they are to win comfortably against Royal AM and please their Limpopo supporters who are sure to once again go to the Peter Mokaba Stadium in huge numbers.
“About the possibilities we failed to use, it is about anticipation and a lack of good judgement, but we will work on this,” Nabi said.
The club stayed over in Polokwane and had fans engagements in Seshego and Burgersfort in appreciation of the good support they are enjoying in the province.
“I want to say thank you to the supporters who came to the game today because there was a break and our last results were not positive,” said Nabi.
“But we saw a lot of fans and we dedicate the three points to them. They were brave and encouraging the team from the beginning and we can see the big value of this team Kaizer Chiefs.”
It is now up to coach Nabi and his boys to prove that Amakhosi are a big team. And the only way for them to do that is to win matches.