By: Saneliso Mlambo
In less than a month since their recent encounter in the Nedbank Cup Semi-finals, Kaizer Chiefs travelled to Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday to visit the relegation zone fighting Chippa United in a 2018/19 last match of the season.
The Soweto giants went on this clash after failing to claim 3 points last weekend, managing to get only one point in a 1-1 draw with a relegated Free State Stars at the Mbombela Stadium. While Clinton Larsen’s Chilli Boys boosted their relegation survival with a 3-1 win against Polokwane City.
Amakhosi were hoping to secure a place in the top eight, while the Chillie Boys were desperate to escape the relegation zone.
Despite having qualified for a the Nedbank cup, the Amakhosi’s league performance has been far from encouraging as they have gone six matches without a win.
on the 9th minutes, Clinton Larsen was forced to make an unplanned early substitution, replacing injured Tebogo Makobela with Frediric Nsabiyumva.
Rhulani Manzini manages to find the back of the net on the 32 minutes with a brilliant right footed shot from the center of the box to the left corner, which saw Chippa United leading by 1-0.
The first half ended with 1-0, dominated by Chippa United.
The second half resumed with a double substitution from Ernest Midendorp, Eric Matoho by Lebogang Manyama and George Maluleke replacing Andrianarimanana.
It was a tight second half with both sides playing short passes and finding difficulties in finding the back of the net.
The only goal of the match from Rhulani Manzini was enough for the Chilli Boys to survive the relegation zone, and pushed Kaizer Chiefs out of the Top Eight spot.
Chippa United coach Clinton Larsen praised his players for not giving up and for having a positive spirit through out the season. “We worked so hard on the last minutes, it wasn’t an easy season at all. I thank the boys for not giving up and for their positive fighting spirit,” he said.