Posted in News on Apr 17, 2007.
Failure to end the season inside the top eight positions in the league will mean that The Amakhosi will be unable to defend the trophy they won back in October. Instead of travelling to Cape Town, The Amakhosi will be hosted by Santos almost 700 km’s from their home base in Cape Town.
Kosta Papic has made it clear to his team that he wants a vast improvement in their performance from their previous two league outings against Moroka Swallows on the 1st of April, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Chiefs followed up the draw against Swallows with a 2-0 defeat against Black Leopards on the 8th April, prompting Amakhosi chairman Kaizer Motaung to openly declare his disappointment not at just the loss to Leopards but the teams’ overall performance during the defeat to Leopards.
For starters Chiefs are expected to come out of the starting blocks quicker against Santos and not wait to be dictated to by the opposition.
Kosta Papic is aware that a month is a long time in football and he will be hoping that his team are able to pick up the pieces and put on a display like they did during his first game in charge - which was on the 10th March when Chiefs demolished Bloemfontein Celtic 4-0 in Durban. Papic will testify that in football terms a lot can happen in a month.
Historically speaking
Chiefs and Santos first came face to face with each other in a Premier Soccer League game as far back as the 1997 – 1998 season, when it took a 58th minute strike from Thembinkosi Biyela to win the day for Chiefs.
A few months later and Chiefs did the double over Santos winning the return game 2-0 at home. The only time that Chiefs ever lost to Santos in a league match came the following season - when in December 1998 Santos lead by Jerome McCarthy, the brother of Blackburn Rovers striker Benni McCarthy, were able to defeat Chiefs 4-2 - a loss which many people believe fundamentally cost Chiefs the league during the 1998 – 1999 season.
As Chiefs eventually lost out to Mamelodi Sundowns on goal difference, a point against Santos on that Sunday in December 1998 could have handed Chiefs the league title in 1998 – 1999.
The last meeting between the teams back in December ended with Chiefs winning an exciting and entertaining affair 3-2 where three goals were produced in a five-minute period in the first half.
Man of the match Siyabonga Nkosi got Chiefs going when he raced down the right and sent in a pass to Shaun Bartlett who side footed the ball home from close range to give Chiefs the lead. That was on the half hour mark, four minutes on and Santos were level thanks to Romano Scott.
Chiefs found themselves in front soon after Santos had equalized when Siyabonga Nkosi ran on to a deft chip from Kaizer Junior, which caught the Santos defence unaware. Nkosi then wasted no time in dispatching the ball home to put Chiefs 2-1 up.
Shaun Bartlett then made certain of the points for Chiefs when he once again got to the end of a Siyabonga Nkosi cross and with Santos keeper Wayne Roberts all at sea, was able to pick his spot and easily head home from close range. On the stroke of time Santos scored a second goal courtesy of substitute Gabonamong, it was mere consolation for the Capetonians as Chiefs held on to win the game.
Games between Chiefs and Santos down the years have been characterised by open attacking play and for the most part have produced some interesting and classic encounters. When the teams met last season at Newlands in Cape Town, the fixture lived up to its billing as the large crowd in at the ground were kept entertained throughout.
Gert Schalkwyk put Chiefs ahead after 25 minutes after Louis Agyemang had misdirected his shot at goal, Schalkwyk pounced on the loose ball and knocked it past Wardle. As was the case earlier this season, Chiefs conceded a goal against Santos soon after taking the lead. Rowen Fernandez and his defence crossed lines and Carlo Scott took advantage and levelled the scores.
Then came perhaps the most defining moment of the game as Chiefs defender Patrick Mayo cleared a Carlo Scott attempt at goal off the line. Mayo then knocked the ball up field and Chiefs won a corner.
Mayo then raced up field for the corner and was unmarked entering the Santos danger zone, from the set piece the ball fell invitingly for him and he wasted no time in sending the ball past Wardle into the back of the net. A second goal from Gert Schalkwyk towards the end of the game sealed victory for Chiefs, in what was a truly memorable evening at Newlands.
Key Players
Should Kaizer Motaung Junior overcome an ankle injury he picked in the 1-1 draw with Swallows, he could take to the field against Santos on Sunday. He will be facing up to one of his closest rivals in the form of Santos striker Ervin Isaacs, vying for the honour of being the leagues top marksmen for the season.
Motaung, currently having scored twelve goals, leads Isaacs who has found the back of the net on eleven occasions this season. Both men though are fighting hard to catch up to Chris Katongo who left Cosmos to try his hand in the Danish league in January.
Katongo has fifteen goals, with four games remaining and Kaizer Junior could well catch the Zambian and end the season as the leagues top finisher.
With two of the country's top young strikers coming up against each other, a lot will rely on the support they get particularly from midfield. For Kaizer Junior the return of midfield mastermind Siyabonga Nkosi to action will be good news.
Nkosi’s ability to open up defences and create chances for the front men will be key to assisting Kaizer Junior towards adding to his tally. A lot will be expected of Nkosi against Santos and he has pledged to bring out his party tricks with him in Port Elizabeth on Sunday.
Kaizer JNR strike partner Shaun Bartlett will have to put his best foot forward on Sunday if Chiefs are to win against Santos, Bartlett is aiming to take his goal tally for the season into double figures. He and Kaizer Junior have formed a formidable strike force this season and Bartlett an experienced campaigner will be looked upon to guide Kaizer towards finding the goals that he seeks.
While Ervin Isaacs has experienced something of a goal drought in the past couple of games, he has though been a revelation this season, with not many people expecting him to have had the kind of impact that he has. Isaacs though has been well supported by the likes of Romano Scott and Eleazar Rodgers with the former netting an injury-time winner for Santos in their last league game against BidVest Wits away from home, which the people’s team won 2-1.
Santos' strength lies in the vast reservoir of talent that they poses in midfield and with Rodgers there is Dipsey Selolwane and Koena Mathopa both of whom are very capable and able match winners.
Kaizer Chiefs results Vs Santos since inception of the PSL in 1996 – 1997:
1997 - 1998
Santos 0 Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Biyela)
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Lebese, Masunda) Santos 0
1998 - 1999
Santos 4 Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Ndlanya, Lebese)
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Tovey, Zwane) Santos 1
1999 – 2000
Kaizer Chiefs 3 (Lebese, Nomvete, Nauseb) Santos 1
Santos 1 Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Pule)
2000 – 2001
Santos 1 (Booysens) Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Nomvete)
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Nomvete pen) Santos 1 (Mahlangu)
2001 – 2002
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Fredericks) Santos 0
Santos 0 Kaizer Chiefs 0
2002 – 2003
Santos 0 Kaizer Chiefs 0
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Moshoeu) Santos 0
2003 – 2004
Kaizer Chiefs 0 Santos 0
Santos 0 Kaizer Chiefs 0
2004 – 2005
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Ngobese) Santos 0
Santos 0 Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Mbesuma)
2005 – 2006
Kaizer Chiefs 0 Santos 0
Santos 1 (C. Scott) Kaizer Chiefs 3 (Schalkwyk x2, Mayo)
2006 – 2007
Kaizer Chiefs 3 (Bartlett x2, Nkosi) Santos 2 ( Scott, Gabonamong)
Kaizer Chiefs Vs Santos head to in the PSL since 1996 – 1997
P | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | |
| Kaizer Chiefs | 19 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 23 | 12 | 11 |
| Santos | 19 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 23 | -11 |
