Kaizer Chiefs huffed and puffed their way to a goalless Premier Soccer League (PSL) draw against Ajax Cape Town on Thursday night on the same FNB Stadium pitch that has landed them in hot water.
The R145 000 fine and punitive measure by the PSL to play home games in September against Mamelodi Sundowns and Black Leopards without spectators seemed to weigh heavily on Chiefs as they dominated play territorially, but seemed jinxed not to secure an important breakthrough goal.
And there is little doubt that the dismal start to the season by the PSL champions, culminating in the ugly vandalism at the FNB Stadium on Saturday night during the shock 2-1 SAA Supa8 defeat against Bloemfontein Celtic, has systematically sapped the confidence of the Chiefs’ players.
Still, despite the pending ban from watching their beloved Amakhosi in action next month, almost 10 000 Chiefs fans still turned up to see their team in action.
But what they witnessed in a frantic, action-packed but often uncoordinated display only added to their frustration as Andre Petin in the Ajax goal brought off a string of superlative saves.
And the youthful Ajax team ran their hearts out to defend as though their lives depended on the outcome, with their hard-earned point deserved on the basis of effort alone.
Recent Chiefs signings Serge Djiehoua and Louis Agyeman, who came on as a second-half substitute, both came tantalisingly close to scoring on several occasions, but the miss of the match as far as Chiefs were concerned was reserved for the 87th minute when veteran John ”Shoes” Moshoeu found himself with the goal at his mercy from barely 5m.
However, Moshoeu, another second-half substitute, hesitated momentarily and gave Petin the opportunity to deflect the ball on to the crossbar in breathtaking fashion. — Sapa