At the end of a week in which fierce rivals Mamelodi Sundowns wrapped up their unprecedented fifth successive Premier Soccer League (PSL) title, Kaizer Chiefs lost their fourth match on the spin.
Once the trophy kings, Amakhosi are a pale shadow of their former selves, and they now envy Sundowns who have ruled the roost with unparalleled success in recent seasons.
When the curtain falls this season, it will be seven years since Chiefs laid their hands on a major trophy, while Sundowns have already bagged the MTN8 and the league championship.
Losing this fourth league match in a row against Cape Town City means Chiefs may end up this season outside the top three, which comes with continental football next season.
This unproductive run started two weeks ago when they were narrowly beaten 1-0 by SuperSport United in a match that led to the dismissal of then coach Stuart Baxter.
Arthur Zwane and Dillon Sheppard were entrusted with the team until the end of the season with the hope of somehow changing their fortunes, but the bleeding continues.
Chiefs went on to lose to Stellenbosch, Golden Arrows and now City to leave themselves as outsiders in the quest to qualify for the Caf Champions League and Confederation Cup.
This result means Chiefs have lost the matches against Arrows and City that the arbitrator ordered to be played after Amakhosi failed to honour them in December following a Covid-19 outbreak in Naturena.
Earlier in the week, City boss John Comitis indicated they may not honour this fixture but they ultimately played and it was not immediately clear if they played under protest.
Chiefs are left with four matches against Marumo Gallants, Sundowns, Sekhukhune United and Swallows FC where Zwane and Sheppard will be hoping for a change of fortunes to end the season on a positive note.
Next week, they are expected to give Sundowns a guard of honour.
Yesterday there were no clear-cut chances by both sets of attackers in the opening 10 minutes as both tried to find their feet.
After a slow start, Chiefs went on the offensive after 12 minutes with an attacking move that resulted in a snap shot by creative midfielder Nkosingiphile Ngcobo that was blocked by Taariq Fielies.
Ngcobo’s attack injected some life into Chiefs as they launched another attack that ended with Bernard Parker’s dangerous cross headed away to safety by Fielies.
Chiefs were punished for not taking their chances as City opened the scoring after 14 minutes from the effort of attacker Craig Martin, who benefited from a defensive mistake by Daniel Cardoso.
For the opening goal, Terrence Mashego delivered a long cross to the edge of the Chiefs penalty box but Cardoso’s attempted header to goalkeeper Brandon Petersen was intercepted by an alert Martin who did the rest.
City increased their lead on the hour mark when an attack by Mashego resulted in the Bafana Bafana defender unleashing a powerful shot that rebounded off the body of Petersen into his net.
Amakhosi pulled one back through substitute midfielder Dumisani Zuma eight minutes from time but it proved too little, too late.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.