Chiefs frustrated by Leopards

Thohoyandou - Kaizer Chiefs were left frustrated after being held to a 1-1 draw by a determined Black Leopards outfit at the Thohoyandou Stadium in the Absa Premiership on Saturday afternoon.

Kgotso Moleko may have raised a few sarcastic smirks with his pre-match comments suggesting Chiefs were expecting a tough game against Leopards.

After all, Chiefs are flying high at the top of the standings while Lidoda Duvha look likely candidates to be in the relegation battle at the end of the season.

However, his comments proved to be prophetic as the home side dug deep and battled hard to become just the fourth team to prevent Kaizer Chiefs from taking full points this season.

The match began pretty much how everyone expected to with Amakhosi dominating proceedings.

It didn't take long for them to break the deadlock either with Samir Nurkovic heading home a Lebogang Manyama corner.

However, the early momentum was brought to an abrupt halt in the 30th minute when Mogakolodi Ngele hit a magnificent free kick to leave Daniel Akpeyi helpless and bring Black Leopards back on to level terms.

The home side were clearly happy with a point and began defending very deep to try preserve the status quo they had just achieved.

Chiefs, though, were after the three points and launched attack after attack on the Leopards box.

There aggressive stance almost cost them dearly around the 65 minute mark when the hosts caught them with a counter attack that almost resulted in Thabo Matlaba giving them the lead, but he hit his shot wide.

As Amakhosi's desperation increased the distance from where they were willing to shoot followed suit. Unfortunately, this just meant there were plenty of harmless shots flying over the bar.

In the end, Leopards clung on for what could be a vital point in their bid for Absa Premiership survival, while Chiefs will be disappointed in dropping two points but they still enjoy a significant lead at the top of the standings.

- TeamTalk Media