Kaizer Chiefs make heavy work seeing off gritty Casric to reach quarters

Kaizer Chiefs did what they had to, though without hitting any kind of fluency, edging a tightly-organised, gritty Casric Stars 2-1 in their Nedbank Cup last 16 clash at FNB Stadium on Sunday night.  

Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana’s 11th-minute penalty for Chiefs was cancelled out by Kgomotoso Mosadi’s 60th-minute equaliser. Amakhosi were relieved when Ashley du Preez’s strike in the 63rd soon restored their lead and saw the trophy-starved Soweto giants through to the quarterfinals. 

Casric, the team that bought Free State Stars last year and relocated the side to Mpumalanga, have had a strong season in the Motsepe Foundation Championship, which they led at one stage. Four draws sandwiching a win have seen them drop to third place. 

Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane — after four wins from six league and cup matches, making for one of his team’s more consistent runs in 2022-23 — made just one rotational change as Kamohelo Mahlatsi got just a fourth start in midfield.

With this competition presenting Amakhosi their last chance at preventing going to eight seasons without silverware, Zwane did not risk much though, even against the lower-league campaigners. Brandon Petersen, Siyabonga Ngezana, Edmilson Dove, Zitha Kwinika, Sifiso Hlanti, Keagan Dolly and Mduduzi Shabalala were bigger names out on the pitch. Bimenyimana came in for suspended Christian Saile.

Bimenyimana, emerging as something of an unusual phenomenon in football as a “penalty specialist”, opened the scoring from the spot. 

The big striker played a part earning the penalty, playing a low ball into the box from the right that Mumuni Abubakar tried to control, the ball squirting off the central midfielder’s boot onto his arm and referee Olani Kwinda pointing to the spot. Bimenyimana struck low to the right of goalkeeper Ludwe Mpakumpaku. 

As the break approached Dolly found Shabalala in the middle, who produced two sublime touches and a turn of pace to beat two defenders and force a stop from Mpakumpaku. 

Chiefs came out from the change rooms with too little conviction in what should have been a mission to ram home the goal’s advantage. They paid for the approach letting Casric back in with a soft goal. 

A punt upfield was headed by substitute Ngoanamello Rammala at the left touchline to the left of the box where Kwinika attempted a flashy control and gave the ball away to Mosadi, who cut in and struck hard for Petersen to parry. Stars’ prolific scorer buried the volley on the rebound. 

The goal spurred Chiefs back into intensity and, to their credit, they regained the lead quickly. A Casric clearance fell to Yusuf Maart who played to Shabalala on the right, who fed Dolly to produce a superb cross that substitute Du Preez got an outstretched leg to inside the eight-yard box. 

Shabalala beat offside to Maart’s intelligent through-ball, Mpakumpaku making the save.    

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