It was like a bolt of lightning out of the clear blue sky as

Bloemfontein Celtic scored the 91st minute, injury-time goal that

sent Premier League champions Kaizer Chiefs tumbling out of the

Telkom Charity Cup before 70 000 largely shocked spectators at FNB

Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The decisive winning goal in a 2-1 Celtic victory, which

maintained Chiefs' nightmarish start to the new season, was scored

from close-range by Moses Spandeel.

But it was the bustling Zambian striker, Rotson Kilambe, on-loan

from Sundowns, who created much of Chiefs' misery by opening the

score from the penalty spot in the 13th minute and then causing

pandemonium in Amakhosi's defence before the grateful Spandeel -

unlike his namesake - led Celtic into the promised land of a place

in the final.

A tentative Chiefs, it should be said, were, nevertheless,

responsible for much of their ultimate misery, although the

mercurial Songwe Chalwe speedily equalised with a sweetly-timed

header only 60 seconds after Celtic's goal.

Amakhosi failed to take advantage of a substantial slice of

territorial advantage and they squandered some gilt-edged

opportunities, particularly in the first half when Celtic were

struggling to find their rhythm.

Losing must indeed have been a bitter pill to swallow for new

German coach Ernst Middendorp, particularly coming in the wake of

uninspiring performances in the recent Vodacom Challenge

tournament, which culminated with a comprehensive defeat in the

final against arch-rivals Orlando Pirates.

Like Sundowns coach, Angel Kappa, in the earlier semifinal,

Middendorp appeared to select a line-up with one eye on the final,

but unlike The Brazilians' coach, the ploy in this instance

back-fired badly.

Chalwe was Chiefs' most lethal and enterprising player and he

was unlucky when a sweetly-timed shot struck the crossbar in the

20th minute.

And Celtic supporters held their breath when James Madidilane

made a heroic clearance off the goalline in the dying seconds.

Celtic goalkeeper Postnett Omony may have been a little slow off

the mark when Chiefs scored, but he delivered the goods later with

a couple of sterling saves.