Kingston Nkhatha will probably walk on to the pitch with some trepidation tonight, unsure of the kind of reception the crowd at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane will afford him.
Now with SuperSport United, the Zimbabwean striker faces his former team Kaizer Chiefs for the first time since his shock move to Matsatsantsa a Pitori during the January transfer window period. Having scored on debut for the Pretoria outfit in the 2-2 draw with Free State Stars, Nkhatha sat out the weekend’s 1-0 win at Black Aces due to suspension.
But he is eligible for selection tonight and coach Gordon Igesund is experienced enough to know just how fired up players often are when facing their former teams and he will probably give the striker a start.
Nkhatha had endured a torrid time at the Limpopo capital where the Chiefs fans appeared to enjoy heckling him so much so that Stuart Baxter, the Amakhosi coach, even threatened to have the club no longer play their home matches there.
That threat seemed to work though as the Chiefs faithful changed their tune in the club’s last match there in December.
They hardly booed the striker who is prone to missing sitters and Chiefs won that league game against Free State Stars 2-0 with Nkhatha shining brightest by scoring one and creating the other goal in a man-of-the-match winning performance.
He went on to also shine in Amakhosi’s next match at the FNB Stadium against Black Aces as he created the solitary goal scored by Mandla Masango, leading to many a Chiefs fans changing their tune about him being a liability to the team. Then he left for SuperSport, a transfer so unexpected it didn’t make sense to some.
And you can bet there will be some in the crowd tonight who will bear a grudge against the striker for leaving their team in the lurch. And they will probably let Nkhatha know their feelings in the best way they know how, by booing and jeering his every touch.
Not that the striker will be bothered or affected. After all, he showed during his time at Chiefs that he has a thick skin, Nkhatha taking the heckling in his stride and sticking to his game and following the game plan set by the coach – often to great effect as he helped ensure Amakhosi remained unbeaten by creating chances for his teammates and keeping the opposition defence unsettled by continuously haranguing them with his runs from deep.
Tonight it will be the turn of the likes of Tefu Mashamaite and Erick Mathoho to be on their toes trying to keep Nkhatha quiet as they attempt to help Chiefs maintain their unbeaten league run.
For that to happen, Chiefs will have to lift their game a few notches up from what it was at the weekend against Botswana’s Township Rollers in the Caf Champions League. To say Chiefs were flat would be putting it mildly, the Glamour Boys needing an injury time scrambled winner by Mashamaite to put some shine on arguably their worst showing of the season.
Against SuperSport such a performance as Saturday’s one where a disjointed midfield display ensured the defence was almost always under pressure could prove very costly and Baxter is sure to have impressed this much upon his team. Igesund’s team go into the match fresh from a good win at Aces where New Zealander Jeremy Brockie scored on debut. Chasing a high finish, SuperSport will be fired up not only by their need to continue their climb up the table but the lure of becoming the first side to inflict Chiefs’ maiden league loss of the season. And Nkhatha must no doubt relish the prospect of being the man to deliver the goal that sinks Amakhosi.
In tonight’s other match, Moroka Swallows host Bidvest Wits eager to register their first win of the year following two successive losses since the restart after the Africa Cup of Nations break. A 4-1 hammering at Mamelodi Sundowns preceded the weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Polokwane City and Fani Madida will hope his team use home ground advantage to good effect against a Wits side that defeated Swaziland side Royal Leopards 3-0 on Sunday in the Caf Confederation Cup.
Both matches kick-off at 7.30pm. - The Star