Kwinika’s late goal saves Amakhosi blushes

It seems like two steps forward and one back for Arthur Zwane’s new-look Kaizer Chiefs, and Sunday’s 1-1 Premiership draw against Marumo Gallants at Rustenburg’s Royal Bafokeng Stadium continued in that vein.

Mahlatse Makudubela’s opportunistic 12th-minute strike for Gallants separated the teams for most of the game, until Zitha Kwinika headed in from a free-kick to level matters in the 84th.

One has to hand it to Zwane that he is the first Amakhosi coach in a number of years to strive for the expressive football that has always been Amakhosi’s hallmark.

Attaining it with a young team might not be so easy and should be a project for the long term.

Amakhosi are now 14th on the league table, a position above Gallants, who fired 31-year-old coach Romain Folz this week and had Raymond Mdaka on the bench.

The surface offered the hopes of attractive football. The characteristic Rustenburg heat; a Chiefs battling to find their rhythm and a game Gallants who worked hard to match their traditionally more illustrious opponents, seemed factors that combined for a more sluggish affair.

Chiefs came out on the front foot and had right midfielder Kgaogelo Sekgota through on a one-on-one to force a save from Gallants goalkeeper Ismail Watenga.

The home side, though, opened the scoring. Makudubela started and finished the movement. The striker produced a piece of skill on the right then fed inside and set off on a run that was not well tracked by the Amakhosi defence. Collecting the return pass, he beat centreback Kwinika and slotted past Itumeleng Khune.

Amakhosi piled on the pressure and camped in Gallants’ half after the break. But they were unable to find a way through, under, round or over the Limpopo team’s parked bus.

With the clock winding down Chiefs finally broke Gallants’ resistance from a training ground set-piece.

Former Bafana Bafana left-back Sifiso Hlanti knows how to swerve in a free-kick, and did so with a well-placed delivery from the left of the area that was just above the heads of Gallants’ defence and low enough to collect the flick-on in the middle, Kwinika burying the header at the far post.