Kaizer Chiefs made it to the PSL League Cup Final for the first time since 2004, and for the second time under coach Muhsin Ertugral. The name of the competition might have changed from the Coca Cola Cup to the Telkom Knock Out, but the intensity and the excitement of knock out football remains the same.

In the heat of Mmabatho one of Chiefs or Celtic were going to melt away from the 2007 Telkom Knock Out and from the onset Muhsin Ertugral’s men shower signs that they were determined to make it to the December 1st Final.

In the end Chiefs held the upper hand from start to finish and Gerald Sibeko’s goal in the opening quarter was enough to earn Chiefs their fourth Cup win in five matches over Celtic, and the win over Celtic went some way to erasing the memories that Chiefs held following their elimination in the opening round of the 2005 – 2006 SAA Supa8 competition.

For Chiefs there will not be a lot of time to celebrate their semi final triumph, as they head off to Durban to prepare for a midweek PSL game against Mamelodi Sundowns, Muhsin Ertugral and his team will be keeping an eye on Sunday’s other Telkom Cup semi final between Sundowns and Free State Stars to see who they will be facing on the first day of the final month of 2007 in the Telkom Knock Out Cup Final.

Sublime Sibeko

Muhsin Ertugral was looking for his team to make an early break through and set the pace instead of chasing the game, that is exactly what happened as Chiefs took the lead in the eleventh minute of the game with their first attack of the match.

Once again it was Jimmy Tau with one of his trade mark in swinging crosses from the right which picked out Shaun Bartlett, the Chiefs striker rose above his marker Celtic defender Timothy Batabaire and knocked the ball in the path of Gerald Sibeko who side footed the ball with his left foot and managed to squeeze the ball between Celtic keeper Walters and the post to give Chiefs the lead.

So close Sibeko

Buoyed by scoring his first competitive goal for Chiefs since the 26th January 2005 when he scored Chiefs third goal in a 3-0 win over Jomo Cosmos, Sibeko was the pick of the Amakhosi players and came millimeters close to scoring a second goal on 25 minutes.

After some good work by David Obua on the left wing the Chiefs number 13 picked out Sibeko with a pass on the ground, Sibeko turned Celtic captain John Maduka and when he got sight of goal unleashed a pile driver from just outside the Celtic 18 yard area. The ball sailed over the despairing lunge of Walters and skimmed the cross bar and went out for a goal kick.

Chiefs push on

While one Chiefs player managed to break his duck and found a goal after two and a half years so another came close in the thirty fourth minute to getting his name onto the score sheet. Chiefs were looking a serious threat their strength in the first half seemed to be their ability to get dangerous balls from the wings with accuracy into the 18 yard area, just past the half hour mark Onismor Bhasera set off on a sprint down the left and was able to find himself in a good position to send a cross towards Shaun Bartlett. Who dummied the ball and let it run to the back post where Arthur Zwane came sliding in and hit the ball with his shin, Walters lunged across goal and stopped the ball on the line.

McCarthy stands tall

With most of the hard work seemingly done in the first half it was left to the Chiefs defenders to do the hard work in the second forty five to ensure that The Amakhosi would be able to keep their advantage and hold on to grab a spot in the final. After coming in for some heavy criticism after his midweek performance Fabian McCarthy, came up with a big performance on Saturday and his most telling move of the match was to shield Kleinbooi Taaibos from getting onto a 79th minute cross from the right.

Taaibos attacked a deep searching ball which fell to the far post, McCarthy used his experience to get between Taaibos and the ball and let it roll out to safety. Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was hardly troubled in the game and his most telling contribution of the game was diving at full length in the 56th minute to stop a shot from Lebohang Mothibantwe.

Match Information:

Kaizer Chiefs (4-3-2-1): 32. Itumeleng Khune, 2. Jimmy Tau, 3. Onismor Bhasera,

6. Fabian McCarthy, 8. Tinashe Nengomasha, 13. David Obua, 12. Thabo Mooki,

18. Arthur Zwane, 27. Gerald Sibeko, 17. Shaun Bartlett

Substitutions:

Cautions: Yellow Cards 8. Tinashe Nengomasha (Illegal tackle on Moses Spandeel) 51 min, 4. Cyril Nzama (unfair challenge) 65 min

Substitutes: 1. Markus Bocsker, 29. Moketi Tsotetsi, 22. Mandla Masango,

26. Thuso Phala

Coach: Mushin Ertugral


Assistant Coach: Fani Madida


Goalkeeper Coach: Rainer Dinkelacker

Bloemfontein Celtic (4-4-2): 1. Shoaib Walters, 2. Thabo Nthethe, 32. Didier Mbendje,

6. Timothy Batabaire, 28. Gary Goldstone, 18. John Maduka, 25. Lebogang Mothibantwa, 10. Kleinbooi Taaibos, 11. Moses Spandeel, 24. Lebohang Kukame,

7. Siphesihle Ngobese

Cautions: 25. Lebogang Mothibantwa (unfair challenge) 67 min

Substitutions:

Substitutes not used: 31. Posnett Ormony, 12. James Madidilani, 20. Mark Amofah,

23. Notkozo Sikhakhane

Coach: Khabo Zondo


Assistant Coach: David Modise

Match Officials:


Referee: Abdul Ebrahim


Assistant 1: Godfrey Selopetsa


Assistant 2: Peter Rabophara


4th Official: Mr. Adeel Carelse