Durban — Khama Billiat and Nkosingiphile Ngcobo scored in either half as Kaizer Chiefs brushed aside Maritzburg United 2-0 at the FNB Stadium on Wednesday evening and signed off for the year in good fashion.
Billiat was back in the starting line-up and back on the scorecard as he gave Chiefs the lead in the 35th minute.
Njabulo Blom and Keagan Dolly combined well on the wing with the former driving into the opposition box and finding Khama in the box, the striker’s first time shot nestled in the bottom right corner of the Maritzburg goal.
Ngcobo came off the bench to grab a second goal for the home side in the 81st minute. After being assisted by Billiat, the youngster remained composed as he shifted the ball onto his left foot and curled one into the top corner from inside the box.
Arthur Zwane filled in for the absent Stuart Baxter again on the bench with Chiefs still licking their wounds after an unpleasant trip to Kwazulu-Natal that ended in defeat.
Chiefs made four changes to the side that went down 1-0 to Royal AM in Durban with Ramahlwe Mphahlele, Khama Billiat, Phathutshedzo Nange and Njabulo Ngcobo all featuring from the starting line up this time around.
The Team of Choice had managed just one victory in their last ten matches and started the game in 12th place, three points off the relegation zone as their struggle for form continued..
The side from Pietermaritzburg had somewhat closed the gap in dominance between the two clubs over the years with both teams managing two victories each in all competitions in the last five games and with one match ending in a 1-1 stalemate at the Harry Gwala Stadium.
The opening half an hour was nowhere near a good advert for local football as both teams played the match at a low tempo, gave the ball away most of the time and reverted to low defensive blocks when out of possession with boths goalkeepers untroubled.
Siphosakhe Ntiya Ntiya wasted a glorious chance after being picked out by Dolly in the 40th minute. The flying left wing back ballooned his shot over the bar after his run was spotted by Dolly who put the ball on the platter for him but his finish left a lot to be desired.
Maritzburg started the second half better and should’ve been level a minute after the restart.
Daniel Cardoso hesitantly played a ball back towards Daniel Akpeyi but it was short and was latched onto by Bongokuhle Hlongwane, the Bafana Bafana youngster audaciously tried to chip the Chiefs goalie but instead stuck it into Akpeyi’s grateful gloves.
Coach Ernst Middendorp’s charges continued to pile on the pressure on Chiefs with numerous shots from outside the box and looked even more dangerous at set-piece time but tried as they did, Chiefs proved too strong and closed off the year in style.
IOL Sport