Posted in News on Feb 01, 2007.
Victory over the Urban Warriors propelled Chiefs to the top of the table and ensured that Chiefs ended January as the top team in the PSL and as February starts, Chiefs will be aiming to extend their stay at the top of the leader board. The Amakhosi have been presented with the perfect opportunity to do just that when they meet defending PSL Champions Mamelodi Sundowns in Tshwane on Saturday.
A win over the defending champions on Saturday will allow Chiefs to build up a lead over Sundowns as well as the rest of the chasing pack while giving Chiefs the boost they need to surge to the finishing line.
Ernst Middendorp and his team though will know that victory over Sundowns will not come easy, especially against a team who have scored seven goals in their last two games. With the game being played at Vodacom Loftus Stadium in Tshwane, Chiefs are in an advantageous position, as they will be in familiar surroundings having played their home league games in the capital since the middle of December.
Historically Speaking
Chiefs and Sundowns have long been great traditional rivals and it is a rivalry that has intensified since the PSL began in 1996 – 1997, and down the years the teams have battled it out to decide who can call themselves the kings of the PSL.
It has been a hard-fought - and at times - painful rivalry, especially for the team coming off second best. Chiefs bore testimony to that fact when they lost out on the PSL crown in 1998 – 1999 to Sundowns on the final day of the season, albeit on goal difference.
When it comes to taking on the Brazilians, Chiefs have in recent years held the upper hand over them. Sundowns' 3-1 victory over Chiefs in February last year was the Brazilians first win against Chiefs since January 2002.
It was a four-year spell in which Chiefs held the upper hand over Sundowns winning five out of the eight league matches against Sundowns from April 2002, until the 22nd February 2006; the other three games ended in draws.
Added to Chiefs rivalry against Sundowns this coming weekend, is the rivalry shared between The Amakhosi and Sundowns coach Gordon Ingesund, who has in the eleven seasons of the PSL come up against Chiefs twenty one times and has done so being in charge of five different teams in the league.
Amazingly, Ingesund has only ever tasted victory over Chiefs on one occasion in 1996, but he has pipped Chiefs to the title on two occasion in 1996, when he was the coach of Manning Ranges as well as in the 2000 – 2001 season, as he managed to narrowly defeat Chiefs in the league race that season when he coached Pirates to the title.
Having been beaten to the title by Ingesund on two previous occasions, Chiefs will be hoping that it will be a case of third time lucky, as The Amakhosi aim to beat Ingesund to the winner’s podium this season.
Form
Saturday’s game could not have come at a better time for both teams. Chiefs put behind them an indifferent start to 2007 by closing off in January with some style defeating Ajax Cape Town, which ultimately meant that Chiefs ended January on top of the league table.
Ernst Middendorp was not pleased with his team’s performance against Jomo Cosmos a week before they clashed with Ajax, but they did manage to turn things around against the Urban Warriors, which pleased the coach.
The Chiefs coach has been further buoyed by the return to form of a number of his players, particularly in defence which he has said was a department that needed attention. Without any major injury concerns this week, Chiefs will be looking to stick to the same combination that helped them gain victory over Ajax. Having the same line up from their previous game will help Chiefs keep continuity which can only assist their cause on Saturday.
Sundowns too have been on a hot streak recently as they have won three of their last five games, scoring thirteen goals along the way while just conceding three goals in that time. Gordon Ingesund will be pleased with the way his team are playing, but is aware that during their last five games his team’s wins have come against teams in the lower reaches of the table.
While they have come up short in games against Jomo Cosmos, Ajax Cape Town and drew with Silver Stars in the last two months. This has been an indication that Sundowns have struggled this season against their fellow title contenders and are as yet to register a win against any of the teams in the top five positions in the league.
Key Players
When Chiefs lost to Sundowns last season, their destroyer was Josta Dladla who helped Sundowns take control of the midfield and ultimately guided his team to a crushing victory over Chiefs.
Dladla who was on the score sheet recently when Sundowns defeated Golden Arrows, will pose one of the main threats to Chiefs. With his long searching runs from midfield, Dladla along with last seasons PSL Player of the season, Surprise Moriri will be looking again to link up in the centre of the park.
Moriri has been in scintillating form and has scored three goals in his team's last three league outings.
Brian Baloyi, the former Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper who replaced Calvin Marlin in a CAF Champions league game, could well be between the posts for Sundowns on Saturday. He will be hoping to use the opportunity to impress against his old team.
Chiefs will have learnt many lessons from their defeat to Sundowns from last season and will be looking to keep things tight at the back, just as they did against Ajax Cape Town.
In order to do so, a lot will rest on the shoulders of goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez. The Bafana Bafana number one was in scintillating form against Ajax and made numerous saves, especially in the second half of the game as he kept his goal intact.
In Chiefs last few games, Siyabonga Nkosi has stood out as one of Chiefs' star performers and they will be hoping that the midfield genius can once again create the spaces and chances for the strikers.
Apart form creating goals, Nkosi has also contributed with some important strikes. Alongside Nkosi in midfield is Scara Ngobese who is improving game by game and it is hoped that he will be able to aptly support Nkosi as he did in the recent game against Ajax.
Kaizer Chiefs Vs Mamelodi Sundowns results since inception of PSL in 1996 – 1997
1996-1997
18 December 1996
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Mooki, Ndlanya) Mamelodi Sundowns 0
1 May 1997
Mamelodi Sundowns 3 Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Mooki)
1997-1998
7 January 1998
Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Kaizer Chiefs 0
25 January 1998
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Masunda, Mooki) Mamelodi Sundowns 0
1998-1999
6 September 1998
Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Kaizer Chiefs 0
30 January 1999
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Mooki) Mamelodi Sundowns 2
1999-2000
21 August 1999
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Makua) Mamelodi Sundowns 1
21 December 1999
Mamelodi Sundowns 3 Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Nomvete)
2000-2001
17 January 2001
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Nomvete pen x2) Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Chukwu)
7 May 2001
Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Evans o.g.)
2001-2002
16 January 2002
Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Mudau) Kaizer Chiefs 0
7 April 2002
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Nzama) Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Bapela)
2002-2003
11 December 2002
Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Kaizer Chiefs 0
11 January 2003
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Mushangazikhe 40, Mabedi 84 pen) Mamelodi Sundowns 0
2003-2004
24 August 2003
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Moshoeu, Mayo) Mamelodi Sundowns 0
21 March 2004
Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Moshoeu, Kannemeyer)
2004-2005
27 November 2004
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Mbesuma) Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Ngwenya)
19 February 2005
Mamelodi Sundowns 3 (Masehe, Sapula, Mtombeni) Kaizer Chiefs 4 (Radebe, Mbesuma x3)
2005-2006
15 February 2006
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Obua pen) Mamelodi Sundowns 0
22 February 2006
Mamelodi Sundowns 3 (Dladla x2, Moriri) Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Obua)
2006 – 2007
14 0ctober 2006
Kaizer Chiefs 0 Mamelodi Sundowns 0
Kaizer Chiefs Vs Mamelodi Sundowns
Kaizer Chiefs Vs Mamelodi Sundowns Head to Head since inception of PSL in 1996-1997
P | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | |
| Chiefs | 21 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 25 | 19 | 6 |
| Sundowns | 21 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 19 | 25 | -6 |
