Chiefs surprised by Santos

Published Apr 23, 2012

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Johannesburg - Santos stunned Kaizer Chiefs 2-1 in their Premiership match at Athlone Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

It was a tight game that - for the most part - lacked in goal-mouth action, with the hosts scoring twice straight after the start of the second half to set up the victory.

The result leaves the Cape side a point behind 14th placed Black Leopards, who lost 4-1 to AmaZulu.

Chiefs, meanwhile slump to their second defeat in a row after losing 1-0 to AmaZulu in midweek, and now drop to seventh position on the log with five games remaining in the season.

Siphiwe Tshabalala was the main man for AmaKhosi early on, taking up varied positions all over the park and getting his side to tick.

Tshabalala managed to get a couple of shots on goal, as did Jimmy Jambo, but nothing that troubled Santos keeper Pa Demba Touray.

A double blow from Santos early in the second half completely changed the balance of the game.

The first goal came seconds after the restart as Salmaan King came in to meet Thabiso Ntloana's cross, rising well to loop home a header.

A minute later and it was 2-0 as Rodgers doubled the lead with a cool finish, slotting the ball past Ithumeleng Khune and into the far corner.

Chiefs came to life after the second goal and put the home side's defence under some serious pressure.

It eventually paid off after 71 minutes, when George Lebese took advantage of an error from Wayne Arendse, doing well to take the ball into the box before beating Pa Demba Touray into the bottom corner of the net to make the score 2-1.

This signalled increased pressure from the visiting side, but despite half chances for Lebese and Lucky Baloyi, Santos were able to hold on for the final minutes and collect a valuable three points in their quest to avoid relegation. - Sapa

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