A game of two halves saw the spoils shared at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium tonight against Chippa United.
We took control of the game in the first half and enjoyed some well controlled play. Chippa were under pressure and fell back in numbers as they defended their line. Some well thought out positional play and movement of the ball saw us take some good chances. We took an early lead in the 22nd minute as Lunga cut inside the box beat the defenders and cut it back to Mutizwa who found the back of the net.
Only two minutes later Ndwandwe was denied the chance to extend the lead after some great footwork saw him one on one with the keeper. As he was lining his shot up, Macheke, who had fallen back quickly on defence manged to play the ball out from under Ndwandwe’s feet.
Chippa started playing themselves back into the game and were hungry to equalise before the break. Unable to, they returned to the change room to plan their tactics for the second half.
The second half saw the home side do just that. With no changes from either team, Chippa returned to the field with an aggressive attacking game plan.
They executed this well, and managed to starve us of ball and keep us on the back foot. They were unlucky not to score off a shot from Gamildien, with his attempt hitting the upright, but they stuck to their plans.
In the 69th minute they reaped the benefits of their determination as Manzini managed to get the ball past Gumede.
Not letting up on their pace, the Chilli Boys starved us of possession and attacked from any angle possible. In the end though, they were unable to score for a second time and clinch the game.
We had some positive aspects of play tonight, and we will need to build on those and work on our defensive play ahead of our fixture next week at home against Orlando Pirates.
