By Michael Madyira
Nigeria international Olisa Ndah came off the bench to score an own goal and hand Kaizer Chiefs a fifth-straight Soweto Derby win at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
As the match seemed headed for a goalless draw, Ndah headed in, on 89 minutes, a long ball from Edmilson Dove to beat his own Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Sipho Chaine.
Pirates played the last 30 minutes of the game with 10 men following a red card to captain Innocent Maela but still, Chiefs struggled to break them down.
It was the third time in four games for Chiefs to face opponents who are a man down and, again, they struggled to take advantage of the numerical advantage.
On Saturday, a game of no clear-cut chances was witnessed as both sides looked very different from how they were in recent games.
An attacking Pirates side that edged Maritzburg United last week looked lost with Monnapule Saleng, Thembinkosi Lorch and Terrence Dzvukamanja subdued by Chiefs.
But Ndah came on five minutes after the hour mark to decide the contest by heading in past his own goalkeeper.
The result saw Chiefs going level with Pirates on 31 points in what throws the battle for next season’s CAF Champions League spot into a difficult contest.
Amakhosi’s defence might need credit for neutralising Pirates’ attack after weeks of criticism about being error-prone.
Twenty-four minutes into the match, Ashley du Preez was released from a counterattack but could not beat Pirates goalkeeper Chaine in a face-to-face situation.
Moments later, Lorch forced Chiefs goalkeeper Brandon Petersen to tip his shot over the bar.
It then became advantage for Chiefs on the hour mark when Pirates lost their skipper Maela who had felled down Christian Saile Basomboli.
But the resultant freekick was no trouble for Chaine as Siyabonga Ngezana also tried for Amakhosi.
Both sets of fans thought it was one point for each of the Soweto giants but Ndah headed past Chaine in what was never a dangerous long ball from Dove.
Pictured above: Siyethemba Sithebe shoots at goal against Orlando Pirates
Image source: Kaizer Chiefs
