Chiefs Draw in Pre-Season Friendly After Late Equaliser
Behind closed doors and away from the usual roar of their supporters, Kaizer Chiefs were forced to settle for a draw after conceding a late equaliser in a low-key but revealing pre-season outing.
For 77 minutes, it looked like Amakhosi had done enough. Etiosa Ighodaro, leading the line, found the breakthrough and gave Chiefs the advantage with a well-taken strike that underlined why the club have put their faith in him. It was the kind of goal that usually swings a quiet friendly into a controlled march to full-time.
Instead, the game slipped away in the dying moments.
With the clock ticking into the 89th minute, Findlay Curtis punished a lapse at the back, sending a dipping effort beyond new signing Renaldo Leaner and into the far corner. One moment of quality, one step too slow in the Chiefs defence, and the lead was gone.
Leaner, introduced in the second half, was one of several fresh faces given minutes as the technical team rotated heavily after the break. The goalkeeper could do little about Curtis’s late effort, a ball that dropped wickedly and left him grasping at air.
New Faces, Familiar Frustration
Chiefs started with Petersen in goal, the captain marshalling a back line of Monyane, Mako, Miguel, Msimango and Ndlovu. In front of them, Maboe and Baartman provided the legs in midfield, with Vilakazi, Chislett and Silva tasked with supplying the attacking spark behind Ighodaro.
The structure looked solid for long stretches. The XI on the pitch controlled phases, created enough to edge ahead and, for a while, appeared to have the contest where they wanted it.
Then came the changes.
The second half saw a raft of substitutions as the bench emptied: Renaldo Leaner, Pule Mmodi, Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, Sibongiseni Mthethwa, Zitha Kwinika, Asanele Velebayi, Reeve Frosler and Kabelo Nkgwesa all got a run. The rhythm shifted, as it always does in pre-season, and with it went some of Chiefs’ grip on the game.
The late equaliser will sting, even in a friendly. A team looking to harden its mentality before a new campaign does not enjoy the feeling of watching a lead disappear in the final minutes, no matter the stakes.
Tougher Tests on the Horizon
There is no time to dwell. Chiefs’ pre-season schedule now moves into a more demanding phase.
On 15 July, Amakhosi face Al Kholood, who finished 14th in the Saudi Pro League last season. It will offer a different kind of examination: travel, a contrasting style, and opponents accustomed to high-intensity, physical contests.
Three days later, on 18 July, Chiefs meet Elche CF, 15th in LaLiga last term and safe by just a single point. That narrow escape has left Elche battle-hardened, and they will not treat the fixture as a gentle run-out.
For Chiefs, these games are more than fitness exercises. They are a measure of how quickly new signings are bedding in, how resilient the team can be under pressure, and whether the habit of letting leads slip is a pre-season glitch or a warning sign for the months ahead.
