Kaizer Chiefs (0) 1

Magesi FC (0) 0

Betway Premiership
FNB Stadium, Nasrec

Ashley Du Preez made an instant impact off the bench to give Kaizer Chiefs a deserved 1-0 Betway Premiership win over Magesi FC at a wet FNB stadium on Tuesday evening.

Barely a minute after entering the fray, the striker finished off a move he was earlier involved in with aplomb in the 69^th minute, reminding Amakhosi fans of how deadly he can be in front of goal.

The welcome victory, overturning a temporary blip of two consecutive defeats, takes Chiefs up to 28 points, and the remain in eighth spot in the league table after 20 matches.

Although the magnitude of Amakhosi’s dominance was more emphatic than the scoreline suggests, it was hard going at times, with the opposition bereft of the genuine quality to make a game of it.

With Magesi’s Five-man defence shielded by a four-man midfield revealing their intentions evident from the start, Chiefs faced the difficult task of penetrating a low block defence on a night when intermittent rain added a further issue for them to deal with.

It made for a lacklustre opening 45 minutes in which Magesi lacked the quality to put any meaningful passages of play together, yet did enough to obstruct Chiefs from making progress by getting bodies in the way and committing niggly fouls, to the frustration of everyone in Gold & Black, including the supporters in the stands

The only chance of note came after 17 minutes when Ranga Chivaviro expertly dropped his shoulder to slip past John Mokone like he wasn’t there and fire in a rasping shot from 20 yards that Elvis Chipezeze had to dive full length to tip the ball past the past.

Apart from a few potentially dangerous runs from Glody Lilepo and Pule Mmodi, too many misplaced passes and interruptions to the flow produced a scrappy first half that unsurprisingly ended goalless.

A triple substitution by coach, Nasreddine Nabi, no longer an uncommon occurrence, saw the Glamour Boys inject some added dynamism into their play, although the visitors’ packed defence offered no way through.

That was until the 69^th minute when some space finally opened up in midfield and Amakhosi made full use of the opportunity. Mduduzi Shabalala fed fellow sub, Du Preez, who released Lilepo down the right. The Congolese forward cut the ball square where Du Preez, following up, slotted the ball home commandingly to send the supporters into a state of elation.

With Magesi incapable of presenting any serious threat to the Chiefs defence, there was little to worry about as the game drew to a close. Mmodi had a golden chance to cap the night of with a flourish but his hot bounced back off the post after he had beaten Chipezeze.

The positive outcome not only puts points on the board that could prove vital come the end of the season but it also gives the team confidence going into the weekend’s Nedbank Cup tie against Stellenbosch in Gqeberha on Saturday.

Line-ups:

Kaizer Chiefs: Bvuma (44), Dove (2), Miguel (84), Msimango (25), Frosler (39) (Solomons (18) 46’), Blom (6) (Matlou (22) 46’), Maart © (8) (Ngcobo (12) 65’), Vilakazi (28) (Shabalala (42), 46’), Mmodi (13), Lilepo (99), Chivaviro (7) (Du Preez (9) 68’)

Subs not used: Petersen (1), Kwinika (8), Cross (48), Morris (40)

Coach: Nasreddine Nabi

Magesi FC: Chipezeze © (1), J Mokone (8), Makgoga (4) (Baloyi (12) 90’), Vandala (36), Matima (35), Buthelezi (3), Mashikinya (50) (Mekoa (28) 60’) Abrahams (25), Mtshali (26), Motupa (40) (Manzini (19) 60’), Kakora (16) (Rademeyer (18) 80’)

Subs not used: Tshabalala (24), Masegela (15), Komane (49), Malesa (20), Makhubela (88)

Coach: Owen Da Gama