Big spending Manchester City made heavy weather of edging past Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 in their Vodacom Challenge showdown played at Durban’s Absa Stadium on Tuesday night.
The only goal of the match came late in injury time of the first half, which was netted by City skipper Stephen Ireland.
City made seven changes from the side that lost 2-0 to Orlando Pirates in Polokwane last Saturday and were given another run in the fast paced opening half by a spirited Amakhosi.
City manager Mark Hughes still left out his two new strikers Carlos Tevez and Roque Santa Cruz who are still not fully fit. But he did include his new England international midfielder Gareth Barry along with England winner Shaun Wright-Phillips and England right back Wayne Bridge.
City’s new R325-million striker Emmanuel Adebayor — signed at the weekend from Arsenal — arrived in Durban on Tuesday but was not considered as he had not trained with his new teammates but he will probably play in Saturday’s final at Loftus.
City play the winner of Thursday’s derby between Chiefs and Pirates, which will be staged in Port Elizabeth at the new Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. The final will be played on Saturday at 3pm.
Chiefs — like arch rivals Pirates — had the better of the exchanges in a first half.
Chiefs live wire midfielder David Mathebula sent a screamer over the City crossbar after only two minutes. Mathebula was in the thick of the action during an entertaining first 45 minutes.
Amakhosi coach Vladimir Vermezovic wisely decided to bring back his Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune earlier from his break
after Khune played brilliantly in last month’s Confederations Cup — helping Bafana finishing fourth.
Khune denied Wright-Phillips a goal when he rushed out and poached the ball off the England winger in the eighth minute.
City defender Ryan McGivern wasted a free header from a Barry free kick in the 12th minute when he rose unchallenged inside the Chiefs six-yard box but he headed wide.
Khune pulled off the save off the match when he did brilliantly to come off his line and push away an Ireland pile-driver in the 19th minute.
Ireland did well to connect a Bridge cross and with only Khune to beat the City skipper watched in disbelief as the 22-year-old Khune threw himself at the shot and pushed it for a corner.
Chiefs Mandla Masango wasted a chance when he intercepted a poor pass from Dutch international Nigel de Jong but his weak shot sailed harmlessly past the woodwork on 26 minutes.
Khune saved a close range effort from Barry on the half hour while the City keeper Stuart Taylor was taken by surprise in the 237th minute by a venomous 25m bullet from Mathebula that he did well to block.
But Ireland put City into the lead with the last kick-off the half when he pushed home a pass from Kelvin Etuhu to finally beat Khune and give the ambitious English Premiership outfit a rather
fortunate lead at the interval.
Chiefs’s hero was Mathebula, who came close inside the first five minutes of the second half to levelling the game. His first attempt on the 50th minute went agonisingly wide and less than 60 seconds later he forced Taylor to make a superb save at the expense of a corner.
City substitute Martin Petrov shaved the woodwork with a rasping shot from the left flank in the 67th minutes as the visitors tried to make the game safe.
The fans kept howling for Vermezovic to replace his out of touch striker Kaizer Motaung junior. Then in the 81st minute there was bedlam in the crowd as Motaung missed a sitter from close range with Taylor well beaten when it looked easier to score than miss. Motaung was one of Chiefs best players at the end of last season but he seemed to freeze against City.
Chiefs, to their credit, kept City under pressure right to the final whistle.
New signing Mthokozisi Yende showed promise when he came on in the second half. He almost equalised with a wicked drive six minutes from time.
But Etuhu missed a sitter two minutes from time when with only Khune to beat blasted wide. – Sapa