This past week, Kaizer Chiefs suffered their worst-ever defeat in the Premier Soccer League era when they shipped in five goals for the first time in one match.
Amakhosi were at the mercy of rivals Mamelodi Sundowns, who stamped their authority in the league, thumping Cavin Johnson’s men 5-1.
Chiefs have not been doing particularly well this season, and they run the risk of finishing out of the top half of the DStv Premiership log. Chiefs have only missed out on the MTN8 three times since the inception of the PSL in the 1996/97 season, with their last time being in 2018/19.
Amakhosi reached 39 points that season, and after 26 games this campaign, the Glamour Boys have registered only 33 points on the board.
Chiefs can reach that feat if they win their next two games, but given the pressure coming from teams like SuperSport United, Polokwane City, and Chippa United – Amakhosi will need to dig a lot deeper to count themselves among the top-eight best teams come the end of the season.
Shyness in front of goal
For quite a long time, Pule Mmodi has been the club’s top goalscorer this season with four goals before Christian Saile recently matched Mmodi’s tally.
The club’s natural strikers, Efmamjjasond Gonzalez and Ranga Chivaviro, have two goals combined.
In fact, it is only Chivaviro who found the back of the net while Gonzalez’s spell at the club has been one to forget.
In total, Amakhosi have scored 22 goals this season – 10 from last term’s tally of 32, which is the second-lowest return for Amakhosi since 1996.
Their lowest scoring rate was 27 goals in the 2017/18 campaign, and would now need five more strikes to avoid marking this season as the worst ever, at least in front of goal.
Leaky defence
Among the seven teams above Chiefs on the log (by the time of publishing), only SuperSport have conceded more goals (31).
Johnson has made a number of changes in his rear guard, with Zitha Kwinika, Given Msimango, Thatayaone Ditlhokwe, Edmison Dove, and Njabulo Ngcobo all getting fair chances in the heart of the defence.
However, the leak still has not been plugged.
Chiefs’ best defensive record dates back to the 2003/04 season when they won the league with 63 points and only let in 11 goals.
This time around, Amakhosi have let in 25 goals, which is, at this point, still an improvement from last season’s tally of 33 and would need to be at the end of serious hidings to be ranked worse than the previous campaign.
How Chiefs compare to rivals
When you think of Chiefs’ biggest foes, you don’t look beyond Orlando Pirates and Sundowns, who have been exceeding in their performance when contrasted with Amakhosi.
Pirates and Downs have been putting the Glamour Boys to shame in the past few seasons, with Bucs making four finals in two terms – winning three of those.
Rulani Mokwena’s Sundowns, on the other hand, have made light weight of the DStv Premiership, claiming for a seventh successive season and have a chance to place the cherry on top if they go unbeaten.
Either one of Pirates or Sundowns will cap off the 2023/24 season with a domestic double as they meet in the Nedbank Cup final on June 1.
Downs have netted 47 goals and conceded nine while the Sea Robbers rattled the net on 41 occasions and their goalkeepers were beaten 19 times – the second-best defensive record so far.
Match Day!
— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs) May 7, 2024
🏆#DStvPrem
⚽️Kaizer Chiefs vs. TS Galaxy
👕First Team
🗓️Tuesday 07 May 2024
🏟Peter Mokaba Stadium
🕞19h30
📺SuperSport 202
🎟R60 - Computicket, Shoprite - https://t.co/nSBHeT3ji1#Amakhosi4Life #Khosified pic.twitter.com/NvUP4m6LPV
