Riaan Hanamub of AmaZulu is challenged by Reeve Frosler of Kaizer Chiefs during the Betway Premiership match at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
Image: BackpagePix
AmaZulu (0) 0
Kaizer Chiefs (0) 1 Lilepo 68'
Kaizer Chiefs brought themselves closer to their best Betway Premiership finish in over five seasons after they beat AmaZulu FC 1-0 at Moses Mabhida Stadium in the penultimate round of matches of the season on Saturday afternoon.
Glody Lilepo scored the solitary goal, smashing home a well-worked goal for Chiefs, but it came at a price as he celebrated by stripping off his shirt, resulting in a second yellow card.
The result took Chiefs to 54 points, one win away from ending up with 57 points — to match their 2019/2020 haul when they finished runners up to Mamelodi Sundowns.
It was a 15th clean sheet for Player of the Match, Chiefs goalkeeper Brandon Petersen, and that will go a long way to causing Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos a headache as he looks to finalise his 2026 Fifa World Cup squad.
Chiefs headed to one of their favourite stadiums having already qualified for continental football after reaching 51 points, but they knew their Durban supporters would expect nothing less than a win. As the party was looming at their arch-rivals' home base in Orlando, it was only fair for Amakhosi to try to keep spirits high on their side of the fence as well.
After all, things could still get better for them, finishing with a more respectable points tally after ending the previous two seasons outside the Top8.
Three Top8 places are still negotiable as both Lamontville Golden Arrows and Polokwane City put themselves on 40 points respectively and Durban City held Pirates to move to 39 points.
However, against AmaZulu, they were always going to face a tough match, with the Durbanites looking to cement their fourth-place finish — a well-known target for the club as mandated by the club management.
Furthermore, it was always going to be an interesting outing with coach Arthur Zwane facing his former club, Chiefs, however, the difference in quality and experience favoured the away side.
*Magesi FC:
The Limpopo side went into the penultimate match already hanging by a thread. Rooted to the bottom of the standings, they knew that anything less than victory in their remaining fixtures would send them down. Their 1-0 loss to Siwelele on Saturday leaves them with a mountain to climb as they need a convincing win against Richards Bay on the last day and then hope that Orbit COllege suffers against title-chasing Orlando Pirates.
*Marumo Gallants:
Gallants were in a delicate situation heading into a difficult Limpopo derby clash against Polokwane City. After an alarming eight-match winless streak, which continued as they finished the match at 1-1 — pulling them up to 14th place.
*Chippa United:
Chippa welcomed Lamontville Golden Arrows in Gqeberha while nervously positioned above the relegation zone. They needed to win to avoid relying on other teams’ results, but Arrows put them on the ropes with a 2-0 drubbing.
*Orbit College:
In the last few weeks, Orbit emerged as one of the surprise stories of the relegation race — going unbeaten in their last three matches, including winning a crucial six-pointer against fellow strugglers Magesi — to climb out of the automatic relegation positions.
Against Top8-chasing Stellenbosch, though, they were always going to face an enormous test as they lost 1-0, putting them in a delicate place as they finish the season against title-chasing Pirates.