Spare a thought for the Kazier Chiefs supporters from the Mabopane branch whose taxi rolled over on the way to this game in Polokwane. I certainly hope that everyone is on the way to full recovery.
It is a fact that every ground is a home ground for the Mighty Amakhosi. Almost thirty six thousand people found their way to the refurbished Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. Almost all of them were supporting the team in the black and gold. The ten or so that were rooting for the People`s Team included it`s owner, family and friends. This, however, did not deter the players mush as they held their own for most of this game. In fact, Santos could have silenced the packed stadium on quite a few occasions.
The game started with Chiefs pressing and Santos showing off their defensive prowess. Sthembiso Ngcobo tried the hand of god but only managed to get into the referee`s book. Ngcobo was actually lucky to escape an early shower as he deliberately handled the ball a couple of times in the first half. Santos` hero from last week`s league win failed to capitilise on a defensive mix up between Nahayo and Khune, his first touch taking the ball wide of the empty net. This ensured the teams went into the break level.
Early in the second half, Thomas Sweswe almost gave 35 590 people instant diarhorea when his attempted clearance looked to be headed into the roof of Khune`s goals. The Bafana number one had to be at his agile best to tip the ball over for a corner. In the dying minutes Knowledge Musona continued his trend of missing the chances that look easy from the stands, putting wide a good cross from the left. This then left us with an extra thirty minutes of Telkom Knockout football. Santos did look more threatening but never really looked like breaching the Chiefs rear guard. Santos goalkeeper showed the confidence of a 14 rand lotto quick pick ticket holder as he tried as much as possible to drag the match into the dreaded shootout. Unfortunately he tore up his ticket with the season`s biggest howler so far.
Tshepo Motsoeneng spilled a harmless looking cross from Siphiwe Tshabalala while trying to ensure he lands spectacularly hence waste a few more seconds. The ball fell to the most lethal striker in domestic football at the moment. By the time Tshepo realised what a mess he had put his team in, Knowledge Musona had got up from under his teammates and was engaging fellow Zimbabwean, Thomas Sweswe, in a yet another dance routine. The distraught keeper was inconsolable as he threw away his jersey after the final whistle. All of Santos` hard work was undone by a moment of pure stupidity. For the masses, though, one half of the final they all want was in place.
No comments:
Post a Comment