Amakhosi simply unstoppable

For a second successive match, Amakhosi owe victory to the efforts of Kingston Nkhatha who the fans used to love to hate.

For a second successive match, Amakhosi owe victory to the efforts of Kingston Nkhatha who the fans used to love to hate.

Published Dec 21, 2014

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Even on one foot, Kingston Nkhatha delivers. For a second successive match, Amakhosi owed victory to the efforts of a striker their fans used to love to hate. Having scored and created another in the 2-1 midweek win over Free State Stars, the Zimbabwean defied an injury that should have seen him long get off the pitch to set up Mandla Masango’s winner.

Continuously hacked on his right Achilles tendon, two of which earned both Tshidiso Tukane and Collins Mbesuma yellow cards, Nkhatha was surprisingly kept on the field – his return for the second half a shock as he had hobbled off the pitch.

But Stuart Baxter’s persistence with the striker duly paid off on the hour mark as Nkhatha found space on the right to run on to a pass from Reneilwe Letsholonyane.

Clearly unfit, he incredibly summoned some energy to get to the ball and deliver a cross flash onto Masango’s head for the midfielder to slot past Jackson Mabokgwane.

It was Masango’s fourth goal against Amazayoni this season after he found the net in the first round 2-1 win in Mbombela as well as a brace in the two sides’ MTN8 clash.

The victory ensured Chiefs remained unbeaten this season having played 18 matches and thus go into the long break still top of the table and looking very good to reclaim the title they lost to Mamelodi Sundowns last season.

They had actually started the previous term in a similarly scintillating way only to implode towards the end – an implosion that was set on course by the selfsame Aces who came here and inflicted a 1-0 defeat on the Glamour Boys.

Not many expected Aces to repeat the dose here yesterday, Amazayoni’s fantastic record of having not lost an away game this season notwithstanding. Yet Clive Barker’s team could so easily have done so.

For, despite Chiefs’ dominance, it was the visitors who created the more clear-cut chances. As it was, there was a good argument for an Aces goal early in the first half when Aubrey Ngoma beat Brilliant Khuzwayo with a sweetly-struck shot that ricocheted off the inside of the upright.

Whether the ball bounced off over the line was not clear but both the referee and his assistant felt it had not.

Before that Tendai Ndoro was twice denied the opener when Khuzwayo dived to push his shot away off the upright and then had his attempt immediately thereafter headed off the line by Man-of-the-Match Erick Mathoho.

Former Chiefs striker Mbesuma also had a chance to score on the half-hour mark but failed to control the ball having rounded off the advancing Khuzwayo and thus allowed the home defence the chance to regroup.

Chiefs had a few half chances in the initial stanza but none were good enough to really trouble Mabokgwane who did well to clear a cross that looked destined for Nkhatha’s head at the stroke of half-time.

Ivan Bukenya had headed over on 43 minutes and late in the game, Masango fluffed an opportunity to complete a brace when he shot straight at the diving Mabokgwane.

In the end, though, it was Nkhatha the Amakhosi faithful were celebrating after the striker once again contributed directly to their team’s success. They are sure to be praying he is fully recovered when the season resumes in February.

Meanwhile, Free State Stars secured a priceless 3-1 victory in their bid to avoid Premier League relegation when they beat Platinum Stars at Bethlehem’s Goble Park yesterday.

Occupying second-bottom position in the log before this “battle of the Stars”, the three points gained from a dogged and relentless performance will enable Free State Stars to gain a measure of breathing space and vault over Platinum Stars in the Premier League’s danger zone going into the mid-season holiday break.

Elsewhere, Mamelodi Sundowns climbed to second place in the standings after securing a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Ajax Cape Town in Atteridgeville.

The Brazilians were aggressive from the start, and Anthony Laffor took a thunderous shot from outside the area in the seventh minute, but Ajax goalkeeper Brandon Peterson got down low and stretched to his right to keep the ball out.

Laffor and Peterson both left the field with serious injuries later in the opening period, after they were involved in a nasty collision.

Downs found the breakthrough in the 25th minute when captain Alje Schut connected with a curling free-kick from Teko Modise and hit the back of the net with a well-placed header.

Throwing themselves forward for the first time in the match, the visitors made an impact 10 minutes after the interval and were immediately rewarded when Tashreeq Morris pounced on a loose ball after a corner and buried the equaliser.

Kuda Mahachi delivered a fine cross with six minutes left in relegation time, and Modise climbed high at the far post to bang in a header for the win.

An 86th minute header from Larry Cohen helped ease Moroka Swallows’ relegation worries and increase those of AmaZulu with a 2-1 victory at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, in Durban.

The hosts had lead through a Bongani Ndulula header after 11 minutes, but Siyabonga Nomvethe levelled less than two minutes after coming on at the start of the second half.

Cohen then completed the comeback to help the Birds climb from 15th to 11th and left Usuthu rooted to the bottom of the table in what was the final match of 2014 for both clubs.

They went ahead when Sifiso Hlanti delivered a cross from the left that was met sweetly by the head of Bongani Ndulula from eight yards out.

Swallows then snatched the late winner when Cohen rose to meet Dikgang Mabalane’s free-kick lifting the Birds out of the bottom two.

In the late matches, Orlando Pirates beat Bloemfontein Celtic 2-1, while Maritzburg suffered a 2-1 defeat at Polokwane City.

l University of Pretoria striker Thabo Mnyamane and his teammates will be in high spirits when they host Bidvest Wits at the Tuks Stadium this afternoon. – Sapa

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