Chiefs sink Arrows in opener

After a goalless first 45 minutes, a rare Valery Nahayo strike early in the second half and a controversial penalty converted by Siphiwe Tshabalala were enough to see the Amakhosi to all three points on offer.

Tshabalala almost gave Chiefs an early lead in the game, letting fly from long range with a powerful, swerving shot that flashed just wide of the angle between post and crossbar in the seventh minute.

The Amakhosi dominated the opening exchanges and seemed capable of creating goal scoring opportunities almost at will, with the clever interchange of their attacking players proving too much for Arrows’ midfield and defence to handle.

On 24 minutes the visitors needed goalkeeper Helton Da Rocha to pull off a top class save, palming away a downward header from Knowledge Musona after the Zimbabwean striker had got on the end of a free kick from Mandla Masango.

The team in gold and black continued to control proceedings, with their goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune very much a spectator. Arrows, with lone striker Songwe Chalwe mostly isolated up front, rarely looked genuinely threatening.

Nonetheless, the whistle for half time saw the score line locked at 0-0. Chiefs would have been frustrated that the goals their attacking play should have reaped didn’t materialise.

Yet the Soweto giants had to wait just five minutes of the second half to finally find the back of the net. Defender Nahayo was the unlikely hero, belying his reputation as a hard-as-nails centre-back to lose his marker in the penalty area and beat Da Rocha at his near post with an impish flick.

And Chiefs nearly doubled their lead just two minutes later, with Abia Nale beating Da Rocha to a bouncing ball in the area. Luckily for Abafana Bes’thende defender Musa Bilankulu was on hand to clear the goal-bound ball.

Midway through the second half, Chiefs were awarded a controversial penalty after Zwane tackled substitute Sthembiso Ngcobo in the 18-yard area. The Arrows defender appeared to win the ball cleanly, but referee Abdul Ebrahim pointed to the spot.

Bafana Bafana midfielder Tshabalala duly converted the penalty to make it 2-0 in the 68th minute and effectively end the game as a contest.

Chiefs almost made it 3-0 in the 83rd minute, with Mthokozisi Yende firing off a powerful volley that looked destined for the back of the net only for Da Rocha to make a superb reaction save with his left hand.