Durban — Stuart Baxter suffered his first defeat as a coach to Golden Arrows as the KwaZulu-Natal side downed Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 in a DStv Premiership clash at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday evening.
It took Arrows just four minutes to take the lead, thanks to a defensive mishap from Eric Mathoho. Knox Mutizwa capitalised from the error, catching Bruce Bvuma off his line and lobbing the ball into the net.
Chiefs had their first opportunity after 10 minutes as Samir Nurkovic and Khama Billiat combined well to set up Phathutshedzo Nange. Nange’s effort was whisked out of play by Arrows keeper Nkosingiphile Gumede.
Arrows had the more opportunities in the first half and spurned two good ones before the half-hour mark. The first came when a clever through ball found Pule Mmodi one on one with Bvuma but the keeper also smartly came off his line early to put Mmodi off and deflect the ball out for a corner.
Just moments later, Arrows again worked a dangerous ball into the Chiefs area. This time Mmodi misjudged the ball, producing a dummy as he thought that the ball would go to team-mate Mutizwa but it instead went into no man's land.
It took almost 40 minutes for Chiefs to have their first shot on target as Nange forced a good reflex save from Gumede.
Unsurprisingly, Chiefs coach Baxter made a double change to his side ahead of the second half in order to strengthen his defence which looked wobbly in the first half. Siyabonga Ngezana and Austin Dube came on for Nange and Mathoho.
Chiefs went on to have their third shot on target after the half hour mark as a floated in free-kick found the head of Bernard Parker. The veteran could not produce his heroics of years gone by as his effort was tame and easily saved by Gumede.
Overall Arrows did deserve the win. Lehlohonolo Seema’s side looked more organised and tactically astute in the game. Their defensive duo of Nkosinathi Sibisi and Thabani Zuke in particular were composed in the game and got the better of the Chiefs attackers.
Chiefs simply did not do enough to claim a point and their communication between players will need improvement.
Both teams will be in action after the international break on Saturday 2 April. Golden Arrows will host SuperSport United at the Princess Magogo Stadium. Chiefs will travel to the Eastern Cape to play against Chippa United at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
IOL Sport