Chiefs, Sundowns settle for share of the spoils at packed FNB Stadium

In the end, they could not be separated after a heavyweight bout that went the distance.

In a Betway Premiership match that was watched by 75,000 spectators on Wednesday night, Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns settled for a goalless draw that many will feel was a fair reflection. 

Coach Nasreddine Nabi and Miguel Cardoso will see this result as two points dropped, but it does not matter too much for Amakhosi as they have moved to the top of the standings with 10 points after four matches.

The only thing that Chiefs and their faithful will rue is that they have lost their perfect start to the season where they beat Stellenbosch FC, Polokwane City and Richards Bay.

For Sundowns, they continue to stumble out of the blocks with eight points from four matches that has left them in fourth spot and they have a short turnaround with Stellenbosch FC beckoning in Cape Town on Saturday.

The match got off to a flying start, with both teams attacking each other in the opening first 20 minutes with Chiefs threatening through Glody Lilepo and Wandile Duba, while Sundowns threatened with Iqraam Rayners and Arthur Sales.   

Sundowns have won their last six league matches against Chiefs since 2022, including the 5-1 drubbing last year here where Tashreeq Matthews scored a brace — but Chiefs were not in the mood to donate three points to Sundowns again.

The game’s most notable chance came after 37 minutes when Lilepo unleashed a piledriver from outside the penalty box that forced a stunning and acrobatic save from an alert Ronwen Williams who parried the ball over the crossbar.

Sundowns did not take Lilepo’s threat lightly as they immediately launched an attack of their own and it ended with Teboho Mokoena’s low shot testing Chiefs goalkeeper Brandon Peterson, who had to stretch his hands at full length to produce the save.

In his line-up, Nabi — who was in charge for the first time this season after he went on compassionate leave — was forced to replace injured Aden McCarthy with Zitha Kwinika, with Paseka Mako taking the place of Bradley Cross at left-back. In the midfield, Pule Mmodi came in for Siphesihle Ndlovu.

The interesting thing about this result is that Chiefs have lost their winning streak with the return of Nabi, who missed the wins over Stellenbosch FC, Polokwane City and Richards Bay.

Cardoso, who is increasingly under pressure because the Brazilians are not hitting the high gears, made three changes to the team that lost 4-1 on penalties to Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 semifinal second leg over the weekend after they tied 1-1 in the first leg .   

Malibongwe Khoza, who was with Bafana Bafana at the African Nations Championship (Chan), was preferred for Grant Kekana to partner Keanu Cupido at central defence. On the wings, Cardoso chose Fawaaz Basadien and Thapelo Morena for Divine Lunga and Zuko Mdunyelwa, while the rest of the team remained the same.

However, his changes did not help the team to get the three points that could have taken the team to the top.