Notwithstanding a dominant display over 90-odd minutes, Kaizer Chiefs suffered the heartbreak of losing the Toyota Cup to Asante Kotoko, 3-2 in sudden death of a penalty shootout, after the thrilling match ended in a 0-0 draw at Durban’s Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban on Saturday afternoon.
Amakhosi were unsuccessful in four of their seven spot-kicks, with the Ghanaians missing thrice in a nail-biting climax to a wonderful afternoon of entertainment.
Appearing resplendent in their new 2025/26 Kappa home strip for the first time, coach Nasreddine Nabi gave a first glimpse to the fans of Nkanyiso Shinga, Flavio Da Silva and Thabiso Monyane in the line-up, and there are undoubtedly encouraging signs that coach Nasreddine Nabi’s process is taking shape at this early stage.
With the sizeable crowd of passionate supporters in good voice all around the stands, Chiefs started in confident mood, knocking the ball around with authority. The Ghanaian visitors struggled to cope with the physicality of the home side in a match that bore an intensity not usually associated with pre-season friendlies. Evidently, both teams wanted to win and it made for an exciting encounter.
Amakhosi combination play appears to be gelling, with the likes of Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, Mfundo Vilakazi, Glody Lilepo and new man, Silva linking up well to threaten the opposition, while the midfield and defence looked very secure, with Aiden McCarthy and Shinga in particular looking composed and competent.
Although neither goalkeeper was seriously tested, Chiefs clearly held the upper hand and came closest to breaking the deadlock, as Sliva’s header from a ‘Mshini’ free kick flashed jus wide in the 28th minute and Vilakazi saw his 25 yard free kick narrowly miss the target two minutes later. “Obregado’ was proving a handful and was fouled numerous times by desperate Kotoko attempts to curtail him.
As is usual in these events, both coaches made a raft of substitutions at the break and although Chiefs emerged for the second half wearing their equally appealing new away strip, the flow of play continued in the direction of Kotoko’s goal, as Nabi revealed the full array of attacking talent at his disposal in the form of Pule, Mmodi, Wandile Duba and Mduduzi Shabalala, the latter producing a piece of brilliance in the 57th minute to beat his marker and hit a thunderous effort that rebounded off the crossbar.
Amakhosi had a glorious opportunity to seal victory in the84th minute when Mmodi won a penalty after being pulled own n the box. Sadly however, Inacio Miguel steered his spot-kick wide of the post and the match need to be decided on further strikes from the penalty spot.
Despite the disappointment, there is much for the Amakhosi faithful to feel positive about ahead of the team’s opening Betway Premiership fixture of the new season, away to Stellenbosch on 11 August.
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