Amakhosi taken down by Amazulu

If Kaizer Chiefs play their remaining eight Absa Premiership matches the way they did against AmaZulu, they may as well resign themselves to the fact that they will end another season without any silverware.

Usuthu’s leading goal-scorer Bongi Ntuli’s first-half solitary strike was enough to hand relegation-haunted AmaZulu maximum points and stun Chiefs’ supporters.

Chiefs also missed the chance to widen the gap between themselves and second-placed Mamelodi Sundowns to 10 points after dropping three crucial points at home.

Few would have thought Usuthu would upset the log leaders, but they fought hard and ended up denting Amakhosi’s chances of winning the championship.

The fact that the match was between a first-placed side and one at the bottom of the log did not show on the field of play, as AmaZulu came to the party with a good plan to frustrate Chiefs.

Ernst Middendorp’s charges, who last won the league title in the 2014/15 season, were looking nothing like a side that has ambitions of winning the league. They were a shadow of the team that defeated their Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates 1-0 last weekend.

Chiefs froze against the ambitious little KwaZulu-Natal team, which is trying to dodge the dreaded relegation axe. Usuthu’s work ethic troubled Chiefs and they did not get more than five shots at the target.

The encounter seemed to show what desperation and pressure can do for a team – Usuthu went into the clash rooted at the bottom of the log with just 20 points, but ended the night in the 15th spot with 23 points.

Credit should go to caretaker coaches Ayanda Dlamini and Moeneeb Josephs, who held down the fort in the absence of coach Jozef Vukušic, who was placed on special leave earlier this week to allow the club to deal with internal matters.

Dlamini and Josephs’ tenure started on a positive note as they registered Usuthu’s sixth victory of the season after 24 matches.

The importance of the three points was seen when the final whistle was blown. AmaZulu’s bench stormed on to the pitch to celebrate, so much so that one would swear they were celebrating winning the league.

Last night’s result saw Black Leopards pushed to the foot of the table.

This even as AmaZulu were still missing a handful of their senior players who remain suspended.

Last month, Lehlohonolo Majoro‚ Jabulani Ncobeni‚ Michael Morton‚ Thembela Sikhakhane and Nhlanhla Vilakazi were suspended for “bringing negativity to the squad”.

On Thursday, Usuthu reportedly recalled the players, except for Majoro, but Morton did not report back. From those players, Ncobeni was the only one who managed to make the 18-man squad that travelled from Durban to face Chiefs – he was a second-half substitute who came on for Siphelele Magubane.

It was not a good day for either of the Soweto giants as, earlier on, Orlando Pirates failed to score in their second successive game when they played to a goalless draw against Golden Arrows.

Pirates went into the game looking to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat they suffered in the hands of Chiefs in the Soweto derby last weekend, but it was not to be and they once more fired blanks in front of goal.

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