Chiefs come from behind to send Swallows to relegation, promotion playoffs

Kaizer Chiefs showed no mercy to their Soweto neighbours Swallows FC as they pushed them to the relegation/promotion playoffs.

ALSO READ: Royal AM, Sundowns game abandoned due to inclement weather

This is after Chiefs came from 2-1 down to earn a point with a 2-2 DStv Premiership draw at FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon. 

A win would have not have seen Swallows flying to safety though as their nearest rivals TS Galaxy managed to earn a crucial away win at Chippa United.

The draw means they finish in 15th place with 26 points and will have to do battle with GladAfrica Championship sides, University of Pretoria and Cape Town All Stars to try and stave off relegation. 

ALSO READ: Royal AM, Sundowns game abandoned due to inclement weather

The game was free flowing from the start with both sides playing attacking football. Swallows had a few moments where they could have done better and taken the lead but they just could not find the right balls in the final third. 

Chiefs were playing much better and had some fluidity in their game and opened the scoring in the 20th minute after some nice exchanges. The goal came from a corner which was played to Reeve Frosler who in turn sent a good cross to find Njabulo Ngcobo who easily headed home. 

Swallows were the more adventurous even after conceding and were somehow unlucky not to have scored. Junaid Sait had Bruce Bvuma pull out a good save to keep his header from close range. A minute later Bvuma had to make another big save, this time from Strydom Wambi’s scorcher.  

Chiefs dominated the early stages of the second half with Sabelo Radebe showing some brilliance with his defence splitting passes. But Swallows made changes, with Lebogang Mokoena and Monnapule Saleng making way for Joseph Mhlongo and Khethukuthula Ndlovu. 

The changes worked immediately with Mhlongo involved in a move that ended in a penalty awarded against Chiefs. This was after Phathutshedzo Nange deliberately used his hand to keep a goal-bound ball out. 

He was then sent off and Chiefs had to play the last 30 minutes with 10 men. Dillon Solomons took the kick and converted. And with just over 20 minutes to the end, Swallows were awarded another penalty. 

This time it was Ngcobo who handled the ball inside the box, and earned himself a yellow card. Solomons was tasked with taking the spot kick and he slotted past a stretched Bvuma. 

Ndlovu came close to adding a third for the Dube Birds but could not connect with a cross that saw him beat the Chiefs defenders to the ball. 

But just as Swallows would have thought they had survived relegation, Bernard Parker scored with a brilliantly taken free kick to make it 2-2.

Results of other DStv Premiership matches played on Saturday:

Stellenbosch FC 1 Cape Town City 1
Maritzburg United 1 Baroka FC 0
Chippa United 0 TS Galaxy 1
Marumo Gallants 2 Sekhukhune United 2