Nasreddine Nabi’s Kaizer Chiefs showed their growth when they secured a 3-1 victory against AmaZulu at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Wednesday.
A confident and mature performance from Amakhosi was spearheaded by former Mamelodi Sundowns star Gaston Sirino, who had a hand in two of the three first half goals scored.
And after taking their foot off the gas in the second half, an assured defensive display made sure they left the game with all three points.
90 + 4’| #AMA 1 : 3 #CHI
— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs) September 25, 2024
Full time score: (Ighodaro 47’) AmaZulu FC 1 : 3 Kaizer Chiefs (Chivaviro 12’, Sirino 14’, Miguel 23’)
Betway Man of the Match: Inácio Miguel#Amakhosi4Life #AlwaysHome #BetwayPrem pic.twitter.com/LhMXxLKT2q
In what was their best start to a game in a long, long time, Kaizer Chiefs made their intentions clear when they looked for an early opening.
Their hard work finally paid off in the 11th minute when Ranga Chivaviro put the ball in the back of the net and made it 1-0 after being played through by Wandile Duba.
Seconds later, South American Sirino scored his first for the club to put Amakhosi in the driving seat when he made it 2-0 with a well-taken strike from outside of the 18-yard area after collecting a beautifully weighted through pass from Mduduzi Shabalala.
Gaston Sirino gets his first goal of the Betway Prem😎
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) September 25, 2024
Just like that, Chiefs are up😏 @Betway_za
📺 Stream #BetwayPrem on DStv: https://t.co/B0jLrQW5cc pic.twitter.com/mkLYee7NeX
And not long after, it was 3-0! New boy Ignacio Miguel put the ball in the net from a Sirino corner. Chiefs then went looking for a fourth, but AmaZulu were able to keep them at bay until the half time break.
Pablo Franco’s side reduced the deficit immediately after the break when Etiosa Ighodaro scored to make it 3-1 after collecting the ball from Ethan Brooks.
And Brooks could have made it 3-2, but a goal line clearance by Rushwin Dortley made sure the visitors kept their two-goal advantage in tact.
AmaZulu had other chances to score, but the Chiefs defence, plus Ntwari in between the sticks, held strong to deny Franco’s men.
In the end, Chiefs had enough to pull off a 3-1 win to move into third place in the league, behind rivals Orlando Pirates and champions Sundowns, their next opponents.
Stellenbosch beat Cape Town City in the Mother City
At Athlone Stadium in the Mother City, Fawaaz Basadien scored an early contender for goal of the season as Stellenbosch FC hammered Cape Town City 3-0 in the iKapa Derby.
𝐖![CDATA[]]>𝐡![CDATA[]]>𝐚![CDATA[]]>𝐭 𝐣![CDATA[]]>𝐮![CDATA[]]>𝐬![CDATA[]]>𝐭 𝐡![CDATA[]]>𝐚![CDATA[]]>𝐩![CDATA[]]>𝐩![CDATA[]]>𝐞![CDATA[]]>𝐧![CDATA[]]>𝐞![CDATA[]]>𝐝? 😳
Basadien scores from his OWN HALF 🔥@Betway_za
📺 Stream #BetwayPrem on DStv: https://t.co/B0jLrQW5cc pic.twitter.com/MdsDBixXNz
The Citizens bossed possesion stats in the first half, but were hit with a sucker punch when New Zealander Andre de Jong put Stellies 1-0 in front on the stroke of half time.
Basadien then made it 2-0 with his wonder strike from well in his own half, and Sanele Barns killed off the tie when he made it 3-0 on the hour mark.
All square between Sekhukhune United and Chippa United
At the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, Chippa United left their bus parked in their goal as they earned a point in a 1-1 draw against Sekhukhune United.
Sekhukhune will, however, be scratching their heads about how they came away from the game with just a point.
🚨FULL TIME ‼️
⏰9⃣0⃣+6⃣
The spoils are shared from the New Peter Mokaba Stadium
Sekhukhune United FC 1⃣-1⃣ @ChippaUnitedFC
🦔![CDATA[]]>🦔![CDATA[]]>🦔#Adibahlabe #BetwayPrem pic.twitter.com/GDbd2rKRDB
The team from Limpopo dominated every area of the field, and were even handed a helping hand when Chippa’s Sirgio Kammies was shown a red card early in the second half.
Chippa scored through Bienvenu Eva Nga in the seventh minute of the game, and Thabang Monare scored the equaliser for the home side in the 50th minute.
SuperSport United get the job done against TS Galaxy
At the TUT Stadium in Tshwane, Zimbabwean Terrence Dzvukamanja scored the only goal of the game as Gavin Hunt’s SuperSport United earned all three points against TS Galaxy.
Eskom to the rescue as Golden Arrows vs Magesi FC abandoned due to power outage
At the Mpumalanga Stadium in Hammarsdale, the clash between Golden Arrows and Magesi FC was abandoned with minutes to play due to a power outage. At the time, the newly promoted Magesi were 1-0 in front.
SCENES ✨
Our match against Golden Arrows has been abandoned due to a power outage 😶.
We await a decision from the league on whether the match will play the remaining 4 minutes tomorrow or start from scratch.#DikwenaTsaMeetse 🐊#TheBlueNation#BetwayPrem
Stellenbosch FC 3, Cape Town City 0
SuperSport United 1, TS Galay 0
Sekhukhune United 1, Chippa United 1
Golden Arrows 0, Magesi FC 1 (match abandoned)
IOL Sport