Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi would have left the ground scratching his head, wondering why they weren’t able to close off the game having held a comfortable lead at half time.
In a game of two halves, Kaizer Chiefs let a two-goal lead slip as they were held 2-2 by Royal AM in a Betway Premiership clash at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Saturday night.
Nasreddine Nabi would have left the ground scratching his head, wondering why they weren’t able to close off the game having held a comfortable lead at half time.
For John Maduka, the questions will be about Andile Mpisane’s value to the side. With the club chairman on the field, Royal AM were in sixes and sevens, and couldn’t string two passes to create goalscoring chances. When he was taken off, they started to look like a proper football team, and started to dominate Amakhosi.
Following Chiefs’ last game, Gaston Sirino returned to the starting line-up for, while Nabi kept his faith in the midfield duo of Ox Mthethwa and captain Yusuf Maart. And with Reeve Frosler suspended after his red card in mid week, Dillan Solomons made a rare start.
Once again, Chiefs made a flying start and found themselves on the board after just five minutes when Ashley du Preez found the back of the net after being played through on goal by Maart.
And seven minutes later, Solomons made a surging run into the box, and laid off the ball beautifully for Wandile Duba, who was left with a simple finish, making it 2-0. Solomons, unfortunately, limped off the park after what looked like a hamstring injury.
Despite a healthy lead early on, Chiefs didn’t stop attacking, and continued to stretch the Royal AM defence. Mduduzi Shabalala should have made it 3-0 after being fed on the edge of the area by Du Preez, but he shot straight at Mondli Mpoto in the Royal AM goal.
Mpisane’s lack of positional awareness and inability to track back and contribute defensively allowed Mthethwa to play with freedom and make forays into the Royal AM half. The team from KwaZulu-Natal were essentially playing with 10 men.
With the first half approaching its end, Maart had a chance to make it 3-0 after being played through by Duba, but he sent his shot over the crossbar.
With Mpisane withdrawn at the break, Royal AM started to play with intent, and they were rewarded when they pulled one back in the 51st minute when Ayabulela Maxwele got them back into the game.
The momentum swung completely in Royal AM’s favour as Chiefs tried to hold on to their lead.
With a minute of regulation time left, Chiefs’ defence was caught napping, and allowed Levy Mashiane a free run at Brandon Petersen’s goal. Mashiane kept a cool head and slotted the ball into the back of the net to make it 2-2.
A win would have seen Chiefs move up to third in the league, but they only moved up one place to fifth, while Royal AM were up to 10th.
