Petersen stands tall as Chiefs deny Sundowns to hand Pirates title boost

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Petersen stands tall as Chiefs deny Sundowns to hand Pirates title boost
Keanu Cupido of Mamelodi Sundowns challenges for the ball with Siphesihle Ndlovu of Kaizer Chiefs. Photo: Kaizer Chiefs

Kaizer Chiefs handed bitter rivals Orlando Pirates a major lifeline in the PSL title race when they held Mamelodi Sundowns to a 1-1 draw at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday.

In a first half that had tough tackles that saw two players taken off with nasty shoulder injuries, it was Chiefs who came out with the lead.

Chiefs goalkeeper Brandon Petersen was the busier of the two custodians and he was called into action after 12 minutes when Tashreeq Matthews made a good run on the left and found Bryan Leon free. The Colombian took a ferocious shot which Petersen kept out with a great save.

Pule Mmodi of Kaizer Chiefs playing against Mamelodi Sundowns.
Pule Mmodi of Kaizer Chiefs playing against Mamelodi Sundowns. Image: Kaizer Chiefs

A minute later, Sundowns suffered a blow when defender Keanu Cupido suffered a potential season-ending injury in unfortunate fashion. The defender went for the ball with his head but met the boot of Chiefs midfielder Siphesihle Ndlovu who left him worse.

Silva punishes wasteful Sundowns

After receiving treatment on the pitch for three minutes, Cupdio was stretchered off to be replaced by Grant Kekana.

Two minutes later, Petersen pulled off the best save of the game when he denied Leon one-on-one. Jayden Adams threaded a defence-splitting pass to him and he got himself behind the Chiefs defence and with only Petersen to beat but the Amakhosi goalkeeper made himself big and denied him.

Sundowns were made to pay for those missed chances as Chiefs broke the deadlock after 24 minutes through Flavio Da Silva. A back pass from Khuliso Mudau saw goalkeeper Ronwen Williams clear the ball but it fell to Pule Mmodi.

Mmodi made a run forward and found Mduduzi Shabalala in a tight space. The midfielder spotted Silva in a good position and passed to him, the striker firing at Williams and while the Sundowns goalkeeper got a hand on the ball, the power behind it was too much as it rolled into the net.

Mduduzi Shabalala of Kaizer Chiefs in action against Mamelodi Sundowns.
Mduduzi Shabalala of Kaizer Chiefs in action against Mamelodi Sundowns. Photo: Kaizer Chiefs

Leon finally breaches Petersen 

By this time, Chiefs had been employing a physical approach on Sundowns and the Brazilians started retaliating. In stoppage time of the first half, Adams hacked down Shabalala when he had gotten the better of him, leaving the Chiefs man on the floor and he was later stretchered off to be replaced by Gaston Sirino with reports saying he had popped a bone in his shoulder.

In the second half, Sundowns upped their game and got in behind the Chiefs defence a couple of times with one of those moments yielding the equaliser in the 54th minute as Leon finally found a way past Petersen when he made a good run behind to connect home Aubrey Modiba’s cross.

It was the sixth league goal and 11th of the season for the big-money January signing but Sundowns’ job would be made difficult after 63 minutes when Adams was sent off for a second bookable offence after a bad tackle.

Chiefs aid Pirates’ title aspirations 

By this moment, Chiefs were lucky not to be down to 10 men as Ndlovu had escaped a second yellow card following two offences, one an elbow on Mudau and a bad tackle on Adams. As the Sundowns midfielder received his marching orders, the Amakhosi bench reacted by taking Ndlovu off for Sibongiseni ‘Ox’ Mthethwa.

Kaizer Chiefs striker Flavio Da Silva.
Kaizer Chiefs striker Flavio Da Silva. Photo: Kaizer Chiefs

However, even with 10 men, Sundowns were still enterprising as they looked for a second goal and nearly grabbed all three points at the death when substitute Iqraam Rayners got a good header on Teboho Mokoena’s freekick but Petersen pulled off yet another great save.

The match ended 1-1, a result that left Sundowns on 65 points from 28 matches, three more than Pirates, who have a game in hand, and if the Buccaneers win all their remaining three games, they could potentially win the league on goal difference.

<!-- Author Start -->Joel Oliver<!-- Author End -->

Joel Oliver

Author

Joel Oliver is a seasoned multimedia sports journalist with a rich background in covering diverse football stories and events in South Africa and beyond.
His extensive coverage spans subjects touching on the PSL, with a focus on the Big Three (Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs & Mamelodi Sundowns), Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana.

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