More adventurous, more inventive and more enterprising, Kaizer Chiefs deservedly added the South African Airways Supa8 Cup to their crowded trophy cabinet after beating Supersport United 1-0 at King’s Park in Durban on Saturday night.
A near-capacity crowd of 40 000 saw the Amakhosi take control of the game in the second half and seal victory with a 62nd-minute, close-range, opportunist goal from recently signed Zambian striker Rotson Kilambe — who also scored for Bloemfontein Celtic in last year’s final to seal the fate of the self-same Supersport.
But, if anything, the outstanding influence on the pitch was the mesmerising, if at times frustrating Emmanuel ”Scara” Ngobese, who bewildered the Supersport players with regular monotony and initiated the winning goal with a dizzy dribble.
Another hero for Chiefs, once again, was inspirational goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez, who was rarely tested by the innocuous Supersport strikers but whose breathtaking, reflex save in the dying seconds of the first half might rightly be proclaimed as turning the course of the game.
On the other hand, while he should not be blamed entirely for the Chiefs goal, there was a distinct impression that Ugandan international goalkeeper Denis Onyango could have prevented the ball reaching Kilambe before he scored.
And, at that moment, Supersport coach Pitso Mosimane must have wondered if he had not erred in leaving evergreen former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Andre Arendse on the bench.
Supersport looked well in contention during the opening period while playing a tight, counter-attacking game, but they became increasingly negative after half-time and demonstrated little confidence in their ability to equalise after going a goal down.
Mosimane brought on veteran Tico Tico Bucuane in a desperate ploy to equalise in the last 10 minutes, but the veteran Mozambican striker is clearly not the potent scorer he used to be and missed two inviting opportunities.
And with top former Bafana Bafana goal scorer Shaun Bartlett continuing to battle for form since he joined Chiefs at the start of the season, it came as no surprise when he was substituted in the 76th minute and replaced by David Radebe. — Sapa