Johannesburg – A mere six points – that’s what Kaizer Chiefs now need to wrap up the championship and live up to their slogan of “reclaiming the glory”.
Saturday’s 3-1 win over Moroka Swallows, coupled with a surprise draw by Platinum Stars with Chippa United, left Chiefs just two victories away from sewing up the Absa Premiership, and it could be all over in the next 10 days.
Chiefs host their nearest challengers Stars this weekend in Polokwane, and then make the trip to struggling Ajax Cape Town on May 1. Should they win both ties, that’s it – the title race would be over.
Amakhosi’s two pursuers, Stars and Orlando Pirates, can only finish with a maximum of 61 points and, with Chiefs already on 55, they would be uncatchable if they win two of their remaining four games due to their massive goal difference.
But in spite of having taken a decisive step towards the title with victory over the Birds, Stuart Baxter continued to urge restraint, even as Amakhosi supporters danced deliriously into the Dobsonville evening, aware that the championship is now within grasp.
“I will keep going until the end of the season,” Baxter, the Chiefs coach, said after goals by Bernard Parker (two) and George Lebese secured a come-from-behind win over the Birds, who had taken the lead through Giorgi Nergadze.
“The moment we start believing in all this publicity, we will start getting relaxed, flat and anxious. And we could get disappointed. We certainly won’t be getting ahead of ourselves. We can’t get carried away because nothing is guaranteed in life.”
The weekend win, which was Chiefs’ first in three games, was not without controversy, with referee Buyile Gqubule ordering Swallows to retake a penalty twice, which Itumeleng Khune eventually saved after being beaten on two occasions by Katlego Mashego.
Commendably, though, Zeca Marques did not dwell too much on Gqubule’s officiating, the Swallows coach acknowledging his men did not have answers to Chiefs’ scintillating second-half display. “It was the first time in my life I saw something like that, a penalty taken three times,” Marques said.
“That absolutely changed the game. Had we been 2-0 up we would have had the upper hand. I’m not questioning the referee, but Chiefs seized the moment.”
Baxter, too, accepted that Gqubule’s decision to rule that Siyabonga Nomvethe had twice encroached into the area as Mashego beat Khune was critical.
“It would have been a mountain to climb – 2-0. The penalty procedure was an important decision to us. After that we equalised, and in the second half we improved massively. This was a 3-1 away win for us against a very good side, and I’ll take that any day.”
Saturday’s win came at a cost for Chiefs.
Captain Khune will miss Sunday’s crucial game against Stars, having picked up his fourth booking which triggered a one-match ban.
Baxter confirmed he will turn to Brilliant Khuzwayo, who has yet to play a single official game since signing at the beginning of the season, to keep goal against the only team to beat Chiefs in the league this term.
The Amakhosi coach was also pretty pleased to see Parker return to scoring form with a brace.
“He was doing certain things difficult for himself. I had a long chat with him before the game, telling him to keep it simple. He did that … he didn’t try to complicate matters. He’s a good player who gets over-ambitious sometimes, but he pitches for big games.”
Parker now is the outright leading scorer in the Premiership with 12 goals, after being stuck on 10 alongside Swallows’ Mashego and Cuthbert Malajila of Maritzburg United. – The Star