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Soweto - A sublime first half and two goals in two minutes from Lehlohonolo Majoro and Josta Dladla saw Kaizer Chiefs beat Moroka Swallows 2-0 in an Absa Premiership match at the Volkswagen Dobsonville Stadium on Wednesday night.
A spectacular opening 45 minutes from the Phefeni Glamour Boys saw them cut through the Swallows defence like a hot knife through butter.
Siphiwe Tshabalala was the main destroyer for Chiefs as his exquisite vision and magnificent through balls allowed Majoro to use his pace to get behind the Birds defence.
It was a rather dull opening 20 minutes but the game was sparked into life in the 20th minute when Tshabalala slipped a perfect pass through the centre of Swallows defenders for Majoro to run onto. With only the keeper to beat, the new Chiefs man made no mistake scoring his second goal in as many games.
A minute later and the Amakhosi doubled their lead from a set-piece. Tshabalala whipped in a teasing cross that was flicked on by Tefu Mashamaite and fell into the path of Josta Dladla who side-footed the ball home from a couple of yards out, also scoring his second goal in as many games.
The problem for Swallows lay in the midfield battle which was controlled by the stronger and more resilient Chiefs players, as they dictated terms from the heart of the field.
In the 40th minute only Tshabalala will know how he did not score. Ritchie attacked down the left flank and provided a low cross into the box which was met at the front post by Majoro who then laid it back to the Bafana Bafana left-winger, but his powerful six-yard shot struck the inside of the woodwork and bounced away from danger.
Two minutes before the half time break and the Amakhosi squandered another golden chance to add to their lead when Majoro was set through on goal, yet again by a delicate through ball from Tshabalala. Majoro rounded the keeper this time, but skied his shot way over the crossbar with an empty net at his mercy.
The second 45 was nowhere near as entertaining as the opening half, and that was possibly as a direct result of a substitution made by Gordon Igesund when he brought on Macbeth Sibaya for David Mathebula which steadied the Birds' midfield to some extent.
But while Swallows looked more stable in the middle of the park, they lacked the bite upfront and were unable to create any clear-cut chances in the second half.
For Chiefs, they seemed content to sit back and defend their lead, but still looked threatening on the counter-attack.
This was none more evident than in the 66th minute when Chiefs broke and some great build-up play saw Tinashe Nengomasha with a shot from six-yards out that struck the woodwork for the second time on the night. The ball rebounded off the post and was passed home by Tshabalala, but the goal was ruled out because the left-winger was judged off-sides.
In the end it was a comfortable win for Chiefs who make it two wins from two matches in the league while Swallows suffered their first defeat of the 2011/12 campaign.
Scorers:
Moroka Swallows (0) 0
Kaizer Chiefs (2) 2 (Majoro 20’, Dladla 21’)
Teams:
Swallows: Etafia; Maleka (Chenene 52’), Mungomeni (Hendricks 23’), Nergadze, Lekgoathoane, Mapemba, Tsutsulupa, Mathebula (Sibaya 46’), Cisse, Machapa, Nomvethe
Chiefs: Khune; Tau, Mashamaite, Isaacs, Ritchie, Dladla, Baloyi, Masnago, Nengomasha, Tshabalala (Motaung Jnr 79’), Majoro (Parker 55’)
A spectacular opening 45 minutes from the Phefeni Glamour Boys saw them cut through the Swallows defence like a hot knife through butter.
Siphiwe Tshabalala was the main destroyer for Chiefs as his exquisite vision and magnificent through balls allowed Majoro to use his pace to get behind the Birds defence.
It was a rather dull opening 20 minutes but the game was sparked into life in the 20th minute when Tshabalala slipped a perfect pass through the centre of Swallows defenders for Majoro to run onto. With only the keeper to beat, the new Chiefs man made no mistake scoring his second goal in as many games.
A minute later and the Amakhosi doubled their lead from a set-piece. Tshabalala whipped in a teasing cross that was flicked on by Tefu Mashamaite and fell into the path of Josta Dladla who side-footed the ball home from a couple of yards out, also scoring his second goal in as many games.
The problem for Swallows lay in the midfield battle which was controlled by the stronger and more resilient Chiefs players, as they dictated terms from the heart of the field.
In the 40th minute only Tshabalala will know how he did not score. Ritchie attacked down the left flank and provided a low cross into the box which was met at the front post by Majoro who then laid it back to the Bafana Bafana left-winger, but his powerful six-yard shot struck the inside of the woodwork and bounced away from danger.
Two minutes before the half time break and the Amakhosi squandered another golden chance to add to their lead when Majoro was set through on goal, yet again by a delicate through ball from Tshabalala. Majoro rounded the keeper this time, but skied his shot way over the crossbar with an empty net at his mercy.
The second 45 was nowhere near as entertaining as the opening half, and that was possibly as a direct result of a substitution made by Gordon Igesund when he brought on Macbeth Sibaya for David Mathebula which steadied the Birds' midfield to some extent.
But while Swallows looked more stable in the middle of the park, they lacked the bite upfront and were unable to create any clear-cut chances in the second half.
For Chiefs, they seemed content to sit back and defend their lead, but still looked threatening on the counter-attack.
This was none more evident than in the 66th minute when Chiefs broke and some great build-up play saw Tinashe Nengomasha with a shot from six-yards out that struck the woodwork for the second time on the night. The ball rebounded off the post and was passed home by Tshabalala, but the goal was ruled out because the left-winger was judged off-sides.
In the end it was a comfortable win for Chiefs who make it two wins from two matches in the league while Swallows suffered their first defeat of the 2011/12 campaign.
Scorers:
Moroka Swallows (0) 0
Kaizer Chiefs (2) 2 (Majoro 20’, Dladla 21’)
Teams:
Swallows: Etafia; Maleka (Chenene 52’), Mungomeni (Hendricks 23’), Nergadze, Lekgoathoane, Mapemba, Tsutsulupa, Mathebula (Sibaya 46’), Cisse, Machapa, Nomvethe
Chiefs: Khune; Tau, Mashamaite, Isaacs, Ritchie, Dladla, Baloyi, Masnago, Nengomasha, Tshabalala (Motaung Jnr 79’), Majoro (Parker 55’)
