Amakhosi fans kept telling each other that the draws would turn into wins. Not yet. On a hot afternoon in Zambia it took one set piece, one unmarked header and one lapse in concentration, and the run became something worse.
The Red Arrows Kaizer Chiefs result was a 1-0 win for the hosts at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, Alassane Diarra heading in a corner on 76 minutes. Chiefs head home a goal down with six days to fix it.
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Result | Red Arrows 1-0 Kaizer Chiefs |
| Goal | Alassane Diarra 76′ |
| Venue | Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia |
| Stage | CAF Confederation Cup qualifying, second round, leg one |
| Return leg | Friday 23 October, Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban (per IOL) |
How the Red Arrows Kaizer Chiefs result unfolded
Arrows were the sharper side before the break, FARPost and iDiski Times reported, and they set the tone early: Angel Lubamba tried his luck from distance in the third minute and sent it over, according to FARPost. Chiefs lost Thabiso Monyane to injury around the half-hour, with Thulani Mabaso sent on in his place, and reached half-time goalless and grateful for it.
Fernando Da Cruz acted at the interval. Luke Baartman, who had started in place of Wandile Duba in the only change from Tuesday’s draw with Stellenbosch, made way for Flavio Da Silva. Chiefs grew into the game, but slowly: iDiski Times noted that their first shot on target only came after 53 minutes.
On 71 minutes Duba and Etiosa Ighodaro came on for Mfundo Vilakazi and Mduduzi Shabalala, a push for the away goal that Chiefs had travelled for. Five minutes later the game went the other way. Ackim Mumba swung in a corner, FARPost reported, and Diarra, the Malian midfielder, met it with a free header. IOL put it plainly: Chiefs failed to defend it.
Set pieces and a stretched midfield
The goal will hurt because it was avoidable. Away ties in Africa are often settled by one dead ball, and every coach who has taken a side north knows it. Defending that corner was the job, and the job was not done.
The bigger picture is a squad running thin in the middle. Reeve Frosler again played in midfield alongside Sibongiseni Mthethwa, IOL reported, because Chiefs are short of fit midfielders. Making do in the centre of the park in a CAF knockout game is a sign of how stretched things are, and it showed in how little Chiefs created before the hour.
Four games without a win
The defeat extends a worrying run. Chiefs had drawn their last three league matches, the most recent the 1-1 with Stellenbosch that our Chiefs v Stellenbosch report covered, and FARPost counts this as four games without a win across two competitions. The numbers behind that run were laid out in our look at the Chiefs draws.
This was also Chiefs’ first match of the competition this season, after a bye in the first preliminary round, IOL noted. iDiski Times also reported that the match was not shown on television in South Africa.
What comes next
Chiefs host the return leg on Friday 23 October at Moses Mabhida Stadium, according to IOL and the club’s ticketing page, as reported in our Red Arrows v Kaizer Chiefs preview. One goal is the gap, and the aggregate decides who reaches the group stage. How these qualifying ties are settled is set out in the ScoreLine guide to the preliminary rounds.
Across the border in Botswana, Orlando Pirates had the afternoon Chiefs wanted, winning 1-0 against African Stars, as our report from Gaborone explains. Durban now needs a response. Six days is not long. It is long enough.