Kaizer Chiefs claw back to win 8-goal thriller

06 August 2015 - 02:16 By Mark Gleeson

Siyanda Xulu scored a horror own goal and then a brilliant winner as Kaizer Chiefs came from two goals down at half-time to beat Maritzburg United 5-3 after extra time at FNB Stadium last night and advance to the semifinals of MTN8. It looked to be a calamitous start for Steve Komphela in his new role as Chiefs coach as his side fell behind to two shocking defensive errors in their quarterfinal tie.But George Lebese scored twice in the second half and Bernard Parker added another to put the defending champions ahead before Xulu put the ball in his own net and took the game to extra time.But Xulu converted a flying overhead kick to make it 4-3 and Pule Eksteen added a fifth on the final whistle to conclude a night of high drama, much to the relief of Komphela.Maritzburg found themselves ahead after just eight minutes as Siyanda Xulu and Ivan Bukenya, the new Chiefs centre-back pairing, got caught in a tangle and Lentjies was able to break free. He raced down on goal, went wide and beat Reyaad Pieterse from a tight angle for a surprise opening goal.Chiefs' first real chance came after 27 minutes when Lebese found space on the left but shot across the goal and wide.They were a lot closer three minutes before half-time when Parker produced a fine save from Virgil Vries and David Zulu thundered the rebound onto the crossbar.But then an innocuous stray pass led to a free corner for Maritzburg in stoppage time at the end of the first half. It was brilliantly converted by defender Thamsanqa Teyise to give the visitors a surprise two-goal lead at the break.But the second half was barely two minutes old when Siboniso Gaxa provided a perfect cross for Lebese to power home a header.Suddenly, the momentum switched as Chiefs found new confidence and Maritzburg panicked. Vries had to make a good save from Siphiwe Tshabalala soon after, before Parker banged home the equaliser with a fierce shot from outside the area.Chiefs were level at 2-2 within six minutes of the start and then grabbed the lead just after the hour-mark after a sweeping interchange of eye-catching passes, eventually tucked away by Lebese.Xulu, in his first official appearance for Chiefs, headed back over his own goalkeeper Pieterse, who was way out of his goal, and Maritzburg were right back in it at 3-3.Extra time saw Xulu scoring from Tshabalala's free kick and Eksteen wrapping it up...

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