Lamontville Golden Arrows beat Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 in a fast, entertaining Premier Soccer League game played at the Oppenheimer Stadium in Orkney on Saturday afternoon. There was no score at half-time.
It was sweet revenge for Arrows, who lost 2-1 in their own backyard earlier in the season.
Both teams played with intent throughout the game and when Chiefs attacked, Arrows immediately reciprocated with equal force.
As early as the sixth minute, Arrows tested Chiefs goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez, but the ball hit the woodwork. Three minutes later, Chiefs striker Kaizer Motaung Jnr had a chance to score for Amakhosi, but headed straight into the hands of Arrows goalkeeper Davies Phiri.
The KwaZulu-Natal-based midfielder Sehloho Nale had a golden opportunity in the 16th minute with only Fernandez to beat, but also missed his target.
Referee Daniel Bennett issued a yellow card to Chiefs midfielder Tinashe Nengomasha for misbehaving throughout the first half and one to each team in the second half — the culprits being Chiefs striker Serge Djiehoua and Arrows ‘keeper Phiri.
Amakhosi coach Ernst Middendorp, who is under tremendous pressure for not delivering as expected, made a double substitution at the restart, hoping for a goal, but it was Arrows who snatched the three vital points from the home team.
The German coach brought on Arthur Zwane for Gerald Sibeko and Djiehoua for Motaung Jnr.
In the 64th minute, the Chiefs coach made another substitution when he pulled off Emmanuel ”Scara” Ngobese who was erratic in his passing for striker Gert Schalkwyk.
Abafana Bes’thende’s stand-in coach Manqoba Mngqithi made a clever substitution in the 69th minute, replacing Philani Shange with striker Alton Meiring and Nale with goal scorer Norman Smith.
Smith first tested Fernandez with a shot in the 81st minute, but the ‘keeper parried the ball for a corner kick. Later, when the two teams seemed to settle for a goalless draw, Smith received a clever pass and struck in the far corner with a thunderous shot. Fernandez got his hands to it but, unfortunately, the ball rolled into the empty net.
The defeat means that Amakhosi have lost two games and six points within the past seven days after they were outclassed last weekend by Mamelodi Sundowns.
With nine games remaining in the season, it is going to be tough for Middendorp to raise the standard and morale of his players.
Amakhosi, from 21 games, have only managed to win eight games with seven draws and six losses. While the boys from KwaZulu-Natal, after playing 21 games have managed to win seven games, with three draws and 11 losses, and it looks like Mngqithi could eventually push them into the top eight. — Sapa