Kaizer Chiefs Reserves made it three wins in a row and continued with their high free scoring since the turn of the year as they overcame Sekhukhune United at Dobsonville Stadium 3-2 on Saturday in their latest game in the DStv Diski Challenge.

Keviano Francis had Chiefs in the lead in 15 minutes. The visitors equalised five minutes before halftime through Thokozani Mashinini. Ten minutes after the restart, Francis completed his brace to put Chiefs 2-1 ahead. The clinical Wandile Duba scored his fifth goal in three games scoring another for Chiefs just past the hour mark to put Chiefs 3-1 up. Sekhukhune set up a nervy finish with a second goal in the 71^st minute through Kgothatso Mathibe.

The Chiefs reserve team has scored at least three goal in each of their four games since the start of the year, netting fifteen goals in four games.

After the final whistle, coach Vela Khumalo said after game that they were not surprised in the way the game panned out. “It was a very difficult game which we expected,” he admitted. “When you play and score the way we have been scoring, it gets to you. Complacency can creep in and you have to work on your mental strength, which we have been doing.”

According to Khumalo, he has been hard at work ensuring that their previous wins over Marumo Gallants and Chippa United did not affect them going into the Sekhukhune fixture. “The entire week, we put the message across that we have not achieved anything and that we need to score more goals,” Khumalo stressed. “Our opponents are aware that we a free scoring team and will be coming with ways to stop us. It was difficult for us to play today.

“We review our games and learn from every situation. We did not play our usual game against Sekhukhune and we did not dominate. But we take the three points, we go and correct our mistakes. It looks good but the points will come when we play well. My biggest point is that we are playing like this without important players such as Bontle Molefe and Mduduzi Shabalala. If those boys are going to the first team then we are doing a decent job in developing players.”

The Chiefs reserves have now moved up to sixth place on the standings which according to Khumalo is encouraging for his young team. “It gives confidence to the boys that we are climbing up and if we keep on grinding out these results, then at the end of the day we will be higher up,” he says. “We did say that after the exams we will look better and we are taking shape.  With the inexperienced players coming in, things will improve. The players are being tested and that is what we need.”

Next up is a trip on the road to face Maritzburg United on 5 February. Vela is already casting his eye forward and is on a mission to avenge his team’s loss earlier in the campaign to The Team of Choice.

“Let’s go to Maritzburg and get our three points which they took off us in the first round,” he concluded as he spoke about the 1-0 loss they suffered last year against United. “It’s not going to be easy now because we are winning, and other teams will plan for you even better. We are winning our games and we want to play with flair as well. Hopefully we will be at full strength for the game.”