Amakhosi supporters know this feeling by now. Not defeat, not quite. Just the slow leak of points that should have been wins. The Chiefs Stellenbosch result at FNB Stadium on Tuesday night was 1-1, Mduduzi Shabalala cancelling out Sinoxolo Kwayiba’s goal, and Kaizer Chiefs have now drawn three Betway Premiership matches in a row.
They are still unbeaten in the league. They are also falling further behind the two clubs at the top.
| Score | Minute | Scorer |
|---|---|---|
| Chiefs 0-1 Stellenbosch | Just after half-time | Sinoxolo Kwayiba |
| Chiefs 1-1 Stellenbosch | 58′ | Mduduzi Shabalala |
How the Chiefs Stellenbosch result played out
The first half was busy without being decisive. Kwayiba struck the upright for Stellenbosch on 21 minutes, an early warning that the visitors had not come to Johannesburg to sit deep. At the other end, Shabalala sent Wandile Duba through on the half-hour, and Stellenbosch captain Sage Stephens made the save of the half from close range. Goalless at the break, though both goalkeepers had been tested and the woodwork had already been rattled once. Nobody in the stadium expected it to stay that way.
Stellenbosch struck first after it. Within a couple of minutes of the restart, Terrence Mashego burst down the left, got into the box and picked out Kwayiba, who finished at the far post. FNB Stadium went quiet.
Chiefs needed about ten minutes to answer. Shabalala, the most dangerous player in gold all night, found the equaliser on 58 minutes, and the crowd found its voice again.
The rest was a scrap. A Chiefs substitute tested Stephens from a tight angle late on, and Stellenbosch survived a late penalty appeal for handball. Neither side found the winner it wanted.
Mashego’s night, and Stephens’
The club’s own man-of-the-match award went to Mashego, which feels right. The left-back made the goal and gave Chiefs’ right side a long evening. Behind him, Stephens kept Stellenbosch in it before half-time and again late on. Renaldo Leaner, in the Chiefs goal, was the quieter of the two keepers on the night.
For Chiefs, Shabalala was the spark. He created the best chance of the first half and scored the goal that saved the night. The worry is how often the night needs saving. A side with title hopes cannot keep asking one player to drag it back into games, however good he is. Duba, Chiefs’ other bright spark in attack, will feel he should have had a goal of his own from that first-half chance.
A third draw in a row for Kaizer Chiefs
TimesLIVE has Chiefs fourth on 14 points from eight games, five of them draws, and nine points behind the leaders. Draws keep you unbeaten. They do not win titles, and in a season where both Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates won on Tuesday, every dropped point counts double.
Sundowns beat Richards Bay 4-1, as our Richards Bay v Sundowns report explains, and Pirates beat TS Galaxy 3-0, covered in our Pirates v Galaxy report. Our Tuesday fixture guide set up the round, and this morning’s Fluit’s Five flagged the return of the league.
What comes next
Chiefs turn to the CAF Confederation Cup, with a double-header against Red Arrows, before the Soweto derby against Pirates. That fixture will not wait for anyone to find form. Stellenbosch, who left Johannesburg with a point and plenty of encouragement, are at home to Chippa United in their next league game.
A point is a point. But three in a row is a pattern. The derby is coming, and Amakhosi need wins before it arrives.