Spirited Aces bow to black and gold
Mandla Masango's goal in the 60th minute proved to be the difference between the sides in a closely fought encounter with both the Amakhosi and Amazayoni having plenty of goalscoring opportunities.
The black and gold juggernaut of Kaizer Chiefs got another well deserved victory when they beat Mpumalanga Black Aces 1-0 at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg
on Saturday to extend their unbeaten run to 18 matches in the 2014/15 Absa Premiership.
Mandla Masango’s goal in the 60th minute proved to be the difference between the sides in a closely fought encounter with both the Amakhosi and Amazayoni having plenty of goalscoring opportunities. Aces will rue the missed chances in the first half when they could have put pressure on the currently runaway league leaders.
Tendai Ndoro had two great opportunities to get his name on the score sheet for the sixth time this season.
The Zimbabwean hit a cracking shot against the bar and then had a second bite at the cherry but his goal-bound shot was cleared off the line to keep the match goalless. Barely two minutes later Chiefs had a chance to open the scoring after the Aces defence had failed to deal with a corner. Luckily for Aces, Bernard Parker’s effort went centimetres over the crossbar.
This was a great match for the spectators as both teams were eager to attack their opposition’s goal. Aces were all guns blazing in the latter stages of the first half with Ndoro shooting just wide from an almost impossible angle. Their determination in attack was also matched in defence with central defender, Edwin Gyimah, putting in some great tackles on any Chiefs player who had the ball in an attacking position.
The start of the second half saw Aces taking control of the match with Ndoro and Collins Mbesuma creating numerous problems for Chiefs’ defence. Aubrey Ngoma was also one of Aces shining lights and should have scored the first goal of the match, as the ball crossed the line after hitting the crossbar only to bounce back into goalkeeper Brilliant Khuzwayo’s hands. The linesman and referee were oblivious to this fact and this came to haunt Aces later on in the match.
Eight minutes later Chiefs’ midfielder, Mandla Masango, punished Aces with a perfectly placed header in the corner of the net after a well timed cross from Kingston Nkhatha.
Erick Mathoto had another blinder for Chiefs in defence as Aces could not get another sight at goal. Chiefs’ coach, Stuart Baxter played a more defensive game in the second half as he wanted to preserve the one-goal lead.
Clive Barker on the other hand needed to attack Chiefs goal and he substituted Aces captain Abia Nale with Miguel Timm in the hope that history could repeat itself. Timm scored the winner the last time that Chiefs were beaten in the league back in 2013.
Mandla Masango had a chance to put the match beyond doubt in the 78th minute after he was one on one with Aces keeper Jackson Mabokgwane, but his timid shot was easily saved.
In the end Kaizer Chiefs were the deserved winners on the day, but Aces can be aggrieved for at least not picking up a point after they put in a fighting effort against the best team in the Absa Premiership.
