Sirino strikes as Chiefs sink AmaZulu

Kaizer Chiefs gave further evidence they mean business this season under Nasreddine Nabi, with a 3-1 Betway Premiership victory over AmaZulu on Wednesday evening at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

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Amakhosi’s second away win to start the season leads them perfectly into a far larger test of their mettle, a meeting with champions Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday at FNB Stadium.

Chiefs’ three-goal blitz

Spurred on by another sell-out crowd, Chiefs blew AmaZulu away with three goals in the opening 23 minutes, including first Chiefs strikes for Gaston Sirino and Inacio Miguel.

The spree started in the 12^th minute as Miguel robbed Ben Motshwari in midfield and sent Chivaviro through on goal.

The Chiefs striker’s first shot was parried by Olwethu Mzimela but it fell straight back to Chivaviro, who slotted the ball home.

It was an opening to forget for Mzimela, who was selected ahead of the experienced Veli Mothwa, whose high profile recent errors saw him relegated to the bench.

And it got worse for the home side two minutes later, as Sirino burst onto Mduduzi Shabalala’s pass, strode forward, and curled a beauty into the back of the net.

In the 23^rd minute, the game looked to be up as Miguel rose to head past Mzimela from a Sirino corner.

Chiefs’ Angolan centre back was given a yellow card just seconds earlier for shoving Ethan Brooks over. But he responded by towering above Brooks. from the set piece, in what was a total mismatch in height.

AmaZulu fight back against Chiefs

AmaZulu came out fired up after the break, and pulled a goal back within two minutes of the restart.

Motshwari’s pass caught the Chiefs defence napping, and Etiosa Ighadoro cooly beat Fiacre Ntwari for his second goal in as many matches since joining Usuthu on loan from Sundowns.

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AmaZulu missed a great chance to pull another goal back in the 50^th minute. Thabang Moremi’s effort clattered off the underside of the bar, and Ighodaro was denied by a last ditch tackle from Rushwin Dortley.

Ighodaro also hit the post ten minutes from time with a fine header as Usuthu put up a spirited effort at making a miraculous comeback. But in the end Chiefs’ early blitz proved decisive.