Posted in News on Nov 14, 2007.
While their cup form has made the rest of the teams sit up and look, both Chiefs and Sundowns will be desperately looking for a turnaround in their fortunes in the ABSA Premier League.
Chiefs come into the game on the back of a 2-1 loss last week to Moroka Swallows in their last league outing, while Sundowns played out a draw during their last game in the league against Santos.
With both teams winning on the weekend it means that they will face each other again in two weeks time, in the Telkom Knock Out Cup with this game being dubbed as the final before the final as it is a dress rehearsal for the December 1 Cup Final.
Muhsin Ertugral has said that the final at the moment is far away from his mind and is not going to hold back in his plans for the game, as he believes that getting his team going again in the league is what is of paramount importance to him at the moment.
The History
There can be no denying the fact that Chiefs and Sundowns are two of the most successful teams since the inception of the PSL in 1996, and such they share a great and intense rivalry which prior to the PSL goes back many decades. Last season when the teams met they firstly played out a featureless goalless draw at the FNB Stadium. The return leg was a very different affair packed with a number of talking points. It was a game won 2-1 by Sundowns as Jose Torrealba gave them the lead, Chiefs found and equalizer through goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez whose retaken penalty was initially saved by Brian Baloyi. Fernandez though had the last say pouncing on to the rebound and tucked the ball away, which meant that Fernandez made history as he became the first Chiefs goalkeeper to score a goal from open play.
Fernandez status as Chiefs savior soon changed as he spilled a 51st minute shot, at the feet of Lerato Chabangu who made the most of his good fortune turning the ball home from close range to win the game for Sundowns.
Of the recent clashes between the two teams the pick of them must be a the second round league clash which produced seven goals, and saw Chiefs who played the entire second half with ten men win 4-3.
Collins Mbesuma was the star man as he found a hat trick for Chiefs, and Chiefs even managed to dominate the game playing in blistering heat and finding the back of the net with a numerical disadvantage.
Look out for
Chiefs saw a number of players hit the right notes during their laboured victory over Bloemfontein Celtic in the Telkom Cup Semi-Final. Starting, at the back goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune managed to keep a clean sheet and made some telling saves in the second half to ensure Chiefs passage to the final.
Fabian McCarthy came up with a match winning performance in central defense against Celtic, and seemed to put behind him his indifferent performance from the Swallows game. McCarthy provided stability to the Chiefs rear guard and demonstrated that he is still one of the best defenders in the country, he used his years of campaigning in the PSL to keep his former team Bloemfontein Celtic at bay.
Ertugral gambled and started the Celtic game with Gerald Sibeko playing as a central attacking midfield, it paid off as the dimunitive midfield play maker was voted as the man of the match for his efforts against Celtic and he also managed to find the only goal of the game his first in over two years for Chiefs. Sibeko will in all likelihood retain his place in the team and will again be given the task of beating the drums for The Amakhosi, and help them win what will be the important battle for midfield supremacy.
Lerato Chabangu was the match winner when the teams last met, he has again been having a good time in front of goal and given his record of finding goals in the big games, he is one of Sundowns danger man. Chabangu might not have been on the score sheet during the Telkom Cup Semi – Final, but Peter Ndlovu was the veteran striker got the all important winner against Free State Stars. The former Zimbabwean international striker has recently shown why Patrice Motsepe was willing to break the bank for him back in 2004, as he begins to get goals for the Brazilians.
While Chabangu and Ndlovu go in search of goals Sundowns goalkeeper Brian Balyoi has been doing a great job in keeping the opposition from finding them, the man who made his name and earned his nick name as the Spiderman during his thirteen years with Chiefs. Has been one of the more consistent performers for Sundowns and has so far this season come up trumps, and has resigned the former first choice pick Calvin Marlin to the substitutes bench.
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
3 February 2007
Mamelodi Sundowns 2 (Torrealba, Chabangu) Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Fernandez pen)
