Downs Do A Double On Amakhosi
Play.co.za’s Chiefs fans were looking for some good news this weekend, something that would give them a bit of hope for their team and for their online sports book predictions – but it was not to be as the boys from Pretoria took the game one-nil from the Soweto Giants.
Every South African football-loving fan was ready for this game. Their sports bets were in. Two of South Africa’s biggest teams were going to go at it – again, for the second time this season – with Sundowns looking to do the league double over Kaizer Chiefs. The stage was set for Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs to lock horns.
Sundowns were tipped to shine
Going on recent history and the South African bookmaker’s odds, the men from Mamelodi have had the upper hand over the Phefeni Glamour boys. To be fair, Mamelodi Sundowns have been dominant in both the domestic league and local cups for several years now. This dominance has also created a dialogue based on the FIFA Financial Fair Play rule with some opposition fans asking for the rule to be implemented in South Africa. What's the FIFA Financial Fair Play rule? The Financial Fair Play (FFP) is meant to make sure that football clubs stay within budget and spend what they’ve earned so no financial losses will occur to those clubs, endangering their long term survival. It also stops clubs from buying all the best players to load their leagues against the opposition.
But back to on-the-field matters. Kaizer Chiefs were coming off the back of a humiliating 4-0 loss to AmaZulu, and Mamelodi Sundowns were looking
for a record-setting 12th straight win in the DStv Premier League.
This titanic match would take place in the Spiritual home of South African football, the iconic 90 000 seater FNB Stadium, affectionately known as Soccer City, in the south of Johannesburg and a stone's throw away from Naturena, the home of Amakhosi.
The starting eleven wasn’t much of a surprise:
Kaizer Chiefs XI:
Khune, Frosler, Dove, Kwinika, Hlanti, Zwane, Maart, Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, Dolly, Du Preez, Bimenyimana.
Subs:
Petersen, Ngezana, Sithebe, Matlou, Mashiane, Solomons, Shabalala, Duba,
Sekgota,
Mamelodi Sundowns XI:
Williams, Mudau, Modiba, Kekana, Mvala, Mokoena, Zwane, Allende, Maema, Shalulile, Mailula,
Subs:
Onyango, Ngobeni, Sirino, Ralani, Morena, Mbule, Mkhulise, Saarvedra, De Reuck
The man in the middle of this park would be the insanely talented and ever-diligent, referee Sikhumbuzo Gasa.
Pushing from the kick off
This game was the hottest ticket in town. The crowd was ready to go and so were the players. Mamelodi Sundowns picked up where they left off and showed Kaizer Chiefs why they are the best in the land. The game got off to a very slow start with both teams sussing each other out. It was a matter of tactics, with Sundowns building from the back and Amakhosi trying to close them down quickly using their striker's pace.
As the game started to flow, Mudau took the ball from the centre half, put some pace behind it, running down the right flank. He lifted his head and saw Peter Shalulile and crossed the ball to him hard and low. Peter unselfishly saw Maema making a run from the D-Line. Shalulile laid the ball to him and Maema needed no second invitation to beat Khune with a scorcher on the right corner of the goalpost.
One Mamelodi Sundowns zero Kaizer Chiefs.
The goal came in the 20th minute and Amakhosi were rattled, another 4-0 looking like a possibility. This brought Downs' game-winning tally to 12 successive games, leading at the summit of the premiership with 17 points. At such an early point in the league, Mamelodi Sundowns have set themselves up for another successful season with every other team playing catch up.
The Glamour Boys kept on playing the high press game, pushing to win the ball in Downs’ territory. This tactic worked, with Du Preez being able to steal the ball from sloppy defenders, but his final execution was simply not clinical – and that summarised Kaizer Chiefs’ day. KC could have scored two goals before halftime but had left their shooting boots at home.
As the old adage says,” In football, if you don’t take your chances, you’ll get punished” and that’s exactly what happened. This game was a reflection of the difference in class between both clubs. Even after going 1-0 down, Amakhosi battled and began to gain dominance but lacked the composure and right decision-making to put the ball past Ronwen Williams. Even with Downs being sloppy and scrappy at times, they never lost their shape and remained true to their footballing principles.
Record breaking Downs
It is the first time in the history of the modern PSL that a team has had a running streak of 12 consecutive wins. While this was the 12th league win in a row for Mamelodi Sundowns, it was a third loss on the bounce for Kaizer Chiefs. For a club of their stature this surely must raise some red flags. Even after this promising but fruitless performance, Arthur Zwane is still adamant that his team will improve with time and that there will be light at the end of the tunnel.
The fans might argue against that, having booed the team off at halftime. Whether Arthur would like to admit it or not, his job is most certainly on the line, and the final nail in his metaphorical coffin could be sooner than expected. The Soweto derby taking place on the 25th of February couldn’t come at a worse time. Should he lose against Orlando Pirates he is most certainly gone. So, whatever is happening at Naturena Village, Zwane needs to find a solution and he needs to find it very fast because one thing we know about South African football fans is that they want results NOW and they are very impatient. VERY IMPATIENT! Look for the odds on Zwane being replaced at your favourite bookies, because he is on thin ice with the Amakhosi faithful.
What the coaches said
Rhulani Mokwena, head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns, shared his thoughts after the game. “In the second half, we played horribly. The defence was leaking, slow, and full of mistakes. The midfield wasn't playing our normal football and you could tell they wanted a second goal but without a proper structure and plan. Chiefs were unlucky in this game, we made them look superior.”
That’s an honest assessment of his team’s performance and he would love to improve on their game. To prove how much the men in yellow were off their normal game, even though the result went their way, a large number of Sundown supporters left early and didn’t participate in the post-match singing ritual even though they managed to conjure up a historic PSL double against Kaizer Chiefs.
Mamelodi Sundowns expect world-class performances every time, and can you blame them? They are the KINGS OF SOUTH AFRICAN football, after all.
Amakhosi left this game knowing they could have taken the three points had they been more clinical. Eish, diski is a painful game.
With the DStv League halfway through the season, it is almost clear who will lift the trophy – the boys from Mamelodi. Betting on Sundowns to lift the trophy is not quite a sure bet yet, but it is looking more and more like game over for the other South African contenders.