SOCCER: Clinton Asary
BOASTING a smile as wide as Kimberley’s famous big=20 hole, there is no doubt that Kaizer Motaung was by far=20 the happiest man at Rand Stadium last Saturday, as he=20 watched his side crush Hellenic 5-1.
But it was not the scoreline that had the Kaizer Chiefs=20 camp smiling, rather the way that Chiefs, who are now=20 unbeaten after four games, went about destroying=20
It was in fact the first time that the “Amakhosi”=20 looked anything like the lineups the club produced in=20 the late Seventies and early Eighties but, as the=20 Chiefs supremo admitted after the game, there is still=20 some way to go before the team will be back at their=20
But it was good preparation for their top-of-the-table=20 clash against Sundowns, who are also unbeaten, at the=20 Odi Stadium in Mabopane on Sunday.
Judging by the “Brazilians” performance against Moroka=20 Swallows last weekend, Chiefs’ coach Augosto Palacios=20 and the rest of his technical staff have nothing to=20 fear from Sundowns.
Whilst Chiefs had little difficulty overcoming a woeful=20 Hellenic, Sundowns needed a dubious penalty to secure a=20 somewhat lucky victory over a plucky Moroka Swallows.
With “supercoach” Clemens Westerhof at the helm=20 Sundowns have vowed to capture the Castle League this=20 year, and the African Cup of Champions next season.
While Westerhof is technically far superior to his=20 peers in this country, surely even he must realise that=20 what Sundowns lack is a genuine goalscorer. While they=20 are a pleasure to watch, ‘Downs have only scored four=20 goals in as many games, while Chiefs, also after four=20 games, have 14 goals.
They may be struggling up front, but in defence=20 Sundowns are sound, and have yet to concede a goal in a=20 department where Cameroon international Thomas Libih=20 and local hard man Linda Buthelezi were sound against=20 Swallows last week.
On occasions, however, the Swallows strikers rather let=20 Buthelezi have the ball than risk a blood curdling=20 confrontation with the man who is far from “Innocent”=20 as his nickname suggests.
Nevertheless, Sundowns PRO Alex Shakoane is predicting=20 victory for his side. “Chiefs are on a high at the=20 moment, but we will bring them down to earth on=20 Sunday,” said Shakoane.
After weeks of frustration, Chiefs look to have finally=20 “turned the corner”, this despite the fact that the=20 club has only lost once so far this season.
Their striking combination of Thabang Lebese and=20 Fortune Koloba has developed into one of the most=20 potent in the league.
An U23 international, the speedy Lebese is sure to be=20 one of the finds of the season, and is proving to be a=20 vital cog in the “Amakhosi” machinery in their quest=20 for league glory this season.=20
Koloba, on the other hand, is not one of the quickest=20 strikers in the country, but he has the knack of=20 turning up at the right place when needed.=20
Since moving to the centre of the Chiefs defence, Neil=20 Tovey has been a revelation, and has been one of the=20 few Chiefs players to have performed consistently over=20 the weeks.=20
Alongside veteran Tovey young Jacob Tshisevhe has over=20 the past two seasons matured into one of the most=20 exciting defenders in the country.
After watching Sundowns last weekend, Chiefs PRO Louis=20 Tshakoane has no doubt that Chiefs will win, “We will=20 beat them mentally, they rely too much on physical=20 strength,” he said.=20