Kaizer Chiefs go down to Yanga as Molefi Ntseki introduces new signings in Dar es Salaam
Image: KAIZER CHIEFS/TWITTER
Kaizer Chiefs suffered a 1-0 defeat to Young Africans in a pre-season friendly match at a sold-out Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Tanzania on Saturday night.
The only goal in the 60 000-seater was scored by Kennedy Musonda late in the first half.
The match was more about Chiefs' recently appointed coach Molefi Ntseki giving a run and introducing new recruits while trying to find combinations ahead of the Premier Soccer League season.
With Ntseki trying to give every player a chance, the match didn’t really give an indication of how Chiefs might fare this season.
The coach missed a few players due to niggles including Keagan Dolly, Ashley Du Preez, Wandile Duba and new striker Ranga Chivaviro.
There were at least six names of new players in Ntseki’s starting line-up with Given Msimango and Thatayaone Ditlhokwe forming a new centre-back pairing while Zitha Kwinika and Edmilson Dove completed the back four.
Venezuelan Edson Castillo, Tebogo Potsane, Mduduzi Mdatsane and Pule Mmodi were the other new arrivals who started.
Itumeleng Khune, who was the third-choice goalkeeper last season, captained the side against Yanga while Yusuf Maart and Christian Saile were the other players from last season.
From the new soldiers, Mmodi was impressive to watch, and he looked dangerous when in possession coming from the left side of the box. The former Golden Arrows man is going to be a key player for Amakhosi in the new season.
He sent a couple of excellent low crosses to the opponent’s box but couldn’t find any of his teammates.
However, it was Chiefs that were under pressure for most of the opening half as the host controlled the game and forced a few saves from Khune.
The former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper and Amakhosi’s long serving player was finally beaten on the stroke of half-time by Kennedy Musonda.
Khune was let down by his defence which allowed Musonda to have a one-on-one opportunity and was chipped by Musonda.
Despite the changes, Yanga continued to control the match in the second half and protected their lead.
Brandon Peterson, who replaced Khune in the final half, made a few crucial saves to keep the score to 1-0.