JOHANNESBURG – Log leaders Kaizer Chiefs tightened their stranglehold on the Premiership with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Wits at the Milpark Stadium.
With the second-placed Ajax Cape Town simultaneously drawing with Moroka Swallows, Amakhosi now head their closest rivals by a runaway 11 points going into the big week-end's Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates.
Spearheading the Amakhosi success as man of the match with two goals was Bernard Parker.
It was Parker who opened the score in the 20th minute with a sweetly-timed left-footed shot after Reneilwe Letsholonyane had opened the static Wits defence with a deft pass.
Chiefs made it 2-0 before half-time after Thulani Hlatshwayo conceded a free-kick with a crunching tackle on Tsepo Masilela in the 37th minute.
Siphiwe Tshabalala took the resultant free-kick and defender Erick Mathoho was on hand to head powerfully into the roof of the net with the Wits defence again looking all at sea.
But it was Parker's second goal midway through the second period that produced the game's most magical moment with the Chiefs striker initiating the movement himself. He then received the ball back from George Maluleka to fire the ball into the net while on the run.
Ironically, Parker missed a golden opportunity of completing a hat-trick in the 80th minute. This was his easiest opportunity of the game, with a wild shot and only Wits goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs to beat it ended up high in the terraces.
But the game by that stage was well and truly won by Chiefs against the increasingly demoralised and bewildered Wits. The Students have now only beaten Amakhosi once in their last 11 league matches between the two clubs.
The match ended on a bizarre note when Chiefs' potential substitute, Siyabonga Nkosi, was refused admittance on the pitch by the fourth official because his long nails posed a potential danger to his opponents.
Chiefs' officials hurriedly completed a cosmetic operation by plastering Nkosi's 10 fingers with tape.
But the operation took too long for coach Stuart Baxter and Chiefs decided to bring Josta Dladla into the game instead. – Sapa