Woodwork lesson for Kaizer Chiefs: a rare defeat as Sundowns and Wits move smoothly on

Never smile at a crocodile: Rodgers, super-sub

SLOWLY but surely, Kaizer Chiefs were mounting a meaningful defence of their PSL title. Last week they needed a dodgy penalty to sneak past Bloemfontein Celtic. On Sunday, Platinum Stars hit the woodwork THREE times but appeared to be about to succumb by the same 1-0 scoreline.

It took a Camaldine Abraw header to best Cavin Johnson’s crocodiles in Cape Town, where nearly 20,000 turned up at the AmaKhosi’s second home.

With Mpumalanga Black Aces, the PSL’s Leicester City, slipping up at AmaTuks, Chiefs were looking to close the gap to just two points on the top three.

Then Eleazar Rodgers appeared off the bench. Minutes later, Johnson was celebrating a first Dikwena win over Chiefs in NINE YEARS. A stunning turnabout nearly left the verbose Steve Komphela speechless.

But not quite. After suffering just his SECOND league defeat all season, Komphela said: “When you look at the chances we had, this should not have happened.

“Results are all that matters. This was about concentration, a lack of ruthlessness, mentality. Their goalkeeper was Man of the Match again. That says it all.”

His rival Johnson could hardly believe it: “Kaizer Chiefs were unlucky. I gave Rodgers a chance and God was on my side.”

Rodgers, a Cape Town lad back playing on his home ground, laughed: "I've been out of the team for two games. Coach made me sit down after I'd warmed up, then I went on and did the business. I'm just so happy to do this here, to get three points for the coach."

The pressure on Komphela is huge, though he remains a lot more secure than his Soweto rival Eric Tinkler after Orlando Pirates lost to Jomo Cosmos. Steve still has a two-pronged problem: how to overhaul Wits and Mamelodi Sundowns, both convincing winners over the weekend.

On Friday night, the irony was obvious. James Keene, the English journeyman who trialled with Chiefs a year ago, produced a goal-poacher’s hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Polokwane City. Stuart Baxter recommended a contract for Keene, but Chiefs Football Manager Bobby Motaung failed to act.

Baxter, who left Chiefs after their record-breaking title triumph last season, recommended Keene to Gavin Hunt, and with four goals in three games, he has made an immediate impact.

Pitso Mosimane, unbeaten in 20 with Masandawana, put another nail in Gordon Igesund’s SuperSport United coffin to maintain his side’s place at the top of the table.

Komphela’s men may have been diligent with the woodwork lessons at Cape Town and they were ultimately Rodgered but their challenge remains significant. The fact that Camaldine Abraw’s slightly fortunate header takes him to TWO this season (half of Keene’s tally) highlights the problems Chiefs have in putting away weaker opposition.

Though they have depth and talent - Willard Katsande, Itumeleng Khune and Siyanda Xulu are quite a non-starting trio - Chiefs struggle to score goals, unlike Wits and Sundowns.

The social networks were abuzz when Abraw scored on Sunday without the need for a penalty or a helpful referee … but their failure to add a killer second goal was always going to result in nails being bitten.

The truth is, Bobby Motaung’s failure to sign Keene when he promised Baxter he would will haunt him for the second half of the season.

The final words from Komphela: “What can I do about missed chances? How can I change it?” There’s an obvious answer. Sign a striker who knows where the goal is.

Is this the end of the African road for Kaizer Chiefs? Here's the closest thing to a match report you're likely to get

UPHILL BATTLE: Shabba and Baxter

Kaizer Chiefs' shocking 3-0 demise in Kinshasa on Saturday, like Orlando Pirates supreme effort at TP Mazembe last year, will never be seen in South Africa. In fact, despite all those shenanigans in Lubumbashi last season, not a SINGLE Mzanzi journalist travelled to AS Vita on Saturday. Bizarre.

Fortunately the AmaKhosi’s efforts at over-turning that dire deficit at Soccer City on Saturday will be visible to all as Stuart Baxter’s men attempt to reach the Group Stages of the African Champions League. 

I can uncover no feasible reason from either the SABC or SuperSport as to why the crucial Champions League second round clash between South Africa’s most popular football team and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s finest went untelevised. Nor can any of the big soccer internet sites and newspapers explain why they failed to send a SINGLE reporter to the game.

So the nation went in to the big showdown BLIND. All I could muster during Sunday afternoon’s disastrous first leg in the Stade des Martyrs de la Pentecôte was this SMS from Baxter on the morning of the game: “Just going to squad meeting. Chaos reigns is Congo but lads have done well so far to stay focused.”

As the game unfolded on fuzzy video links, even fuzzier radio streams, computer crashes and twitter updates, it became clear that the home team’s 22-year-old striker Firmin Ndombe Mubele, capped six times by the DRC, was going to be the star of the night.

His first goal popped up on seven minutes. A few Chiefs chances later, he doubled the lead in the 35^th minute before completing his hat-trick and the scoreline a minute after half-time. AS Vita also allegedly hit the woodwork twice.

Two of those goal, apparently, were “wonder goals”,  a pair of classics. How can I be sure on the basis of blurry images and hearsay? Simple. Baxter was on the SMS within minutes of the final whistle.

This is his concise summary of events:

“We missed chances and they scored two wonder goals.

“At 1-0 we have a set play and that leaves Masha (Tefu Mashamaite) free with the keeper. He misses and they go straight down the other end and score. 3-0 comes from a Van Basten copy (a reference to a cracking volley for Holland in the 1988 European Championship final) minutes after half-time.

“It was a good game but we will have to dig deep in Joburg. Talk when we get back, Neal.”

And that’s it. Apart from a few messages and pictures from Kaizer Chiefs communications manager Vina Maphosa (and the patchy video below), we have little else to go on before AS Vita’s all-conquering heroes – who qualified for the Congo league play-off last week – arrive in South Africa for the second leg.

On twitter, we attempted to find ways in which we could #welcomeasvita, ranging from playing live Steve Hofmeyr songs in the hotel lobby to piling the Congolese squad in to a dodgy taxi for the trip to Soccer City next Saturday. There was even a suggestion which should send Kulubhuse Zuma to their pre-match meal.

But while SuperSport United coach Cavin Johnson complained to me that his side’s 1-0 defeat at Tunisia’s Etoile Sahel in the CAF Confed Cup had been marred by poor refereeing – centering on a disallowed Mame Niang goal – Baxter has yet to tell us of any shenanigans in the DRC on Sunday.

So assuming the PSL’s “penultimate” ref Victor Gomes doesn’t officiate next Saturday – he gave FIVE penalties in a single game three weeks ago – Baxter will have to rely on an emphatic 4-0 win at home or face playing with the also-rans in the CAF Confederations Cup..

But as I said to him before he left the Congo: “If David Moyes and Manchester United can recover from 0-2 in Greece to win 3-0 against Olympiacos after the season they’ve had, Kaizer Chiefs can do at least that against AS Vita.”

With his champions six points clear at the top of the PSL, Baxter and his men have lost just two out of 21 games since early November – to Platinum Stars and AS Vita. They have NEVER lost a home league game in 18 months under the Wolverhampton-born coach.

Yes, 4-0 would be miraculous. But stranger things have happened.


FULL VIDEO BELOW, shorter version HERE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVW-nW3Nuck

BOLLOCKZ! my innovative football show on www.ballz.co.za airs every Thursday from 9am-11am. See Ballz' channel for our growing library of fascinating football interviews with the big names. 

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal & Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice and charity bets for our Wingzofchange charity!  

The trouble with a treble: Kaizer Chiefs fighting on three fronts with VV and the Soweto Derby looming

Knowledge is Power: Musona celebrates

STUART BAXTER’s task becomes clearer – but trickier – every week. The closer the Kaizer Chiefs head coach gets to his goals, the darker the clouds will get. That's the trouble with a treble, even when you're on a 17-game unbeaten streak.

Yes, his on-loan Zimbabwean goal-poacher Knowledge Musona thumped home a first-half hat-trick in Maputo on Saturday – not that any of the local broadcasters bothered to televise the AmaKhosi’s emphatic 3-0 win against Liga Muculmana – and Baxter’s men cruised through to the second round 7-0 on aggregate.

But on Sunday, our Chiefs were greeted by news of an unwelcome trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo when AS Vita saw off Zimbabwe’s own “Glamour Boys” Dynamos 1-0 in Kinshasa after a goalless first leg in Harare.

The Knowledge hat-trick, missed by SABC and SuperSport, is HERE!


We all remember the last time a South African side went to the DRC on Champions League duty. Orlando Pirates went through hell at TP Mazembe at the same stage last year, with television black-outs, detained journalists, bogus red cards and TWO dodgy penalties.

But hey, Pirates survived and went on to the Group Stages and that stirring African Champions League final defeat against Al Ahly. And who’s to say Kaizer Chiefs can’t do the same?

Sure, the ankle ligaments twisted by Bafana Bafana’s No1 Itumeleng Khune won’t help matters, but they’ve got back-up. Former Nike talent search winner Reyaad Pieterse has been strong in Africa, earning the nickname “David James” (after the former England and Liverpool goalkeeper) and failing that, Baxter can turn to former AmaZulu stopper Brilliant Khuzwayo, who cut his teeth in the Under 23 national squad.

But now, with that trip to the DRC to come, Baxter must attend to his domestic duties. The Nedbank Cup has to be defended – and so does the PSL title after last season’s double in a glorious first season at Naturena for Wolverhampton-born “Mbax”.

Despite that six point lead at the top of the table, Baxter won’t be taking Alan Freese and his Platinum Stars for granted tomorrow (Wednesday) night at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium. Dikwena already have the MTN8 and Telkom KO in the bag this season, under-estimate them at your peril.

And then, the Soweto Derby on Saturday. Hold everything. The Ides of March put paid to Julius Caesar a few thousand years ago and arch-rivals Pirates have two potential back-stabbers: Serbian coach Vladimir Vermecovic is ready to use his shiny new work permit and Bafana striker Lehlonololo Majoro can hardly score less than his peers at arch-rivals Pirates.

As we said last week here, the presence of those two former Chiefs employess alone promises a lively derby at Soccer City, regardless of the Buccaneers’ limp 1-0 defeat against AmaTuks over the weekend.

With East London's Buffalo to come in the Nedbank Cup and both Bidvest Wits and Mamelodi Sundowns closing the gap at the top of the table, Baxter knows how difficult it will be to maintain that unbeaten run – which dates back to November 5 and the start of my current beard – on three fronts.

He grins: “We were so professional in Maputo, it’s hard when you go into a game winning 4-0 but we kept our motivation and concentration.

“We changed the way we normally play, we wanted to make it a test. We played with the 3 centre backs in case we want to use that when we are on the road in the rest of Africa. Our plan worked perfectly.

"Ask a big club anywhere in the world about their ambition and the answer will be the same. We are an ambitious club. Like other big clubs we go into each tournament to win.”

 Can they compete on three fronts? Can any big club? Yes. You can do just about anything when you've got a form guide reading WWWWWWWWWDDWWWW. 

BOLLOCKZ! my innovative football show on www.ballz.co.za airs every Thursday from 9am-11am. See Ballz' channel for our growing library of fascinating football interviews with the big names. 

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal & Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice and charity bets for our Wingzofchange charity!