Kaizer Chiefs and Baroka FC played to a one-all draw in their DSTV Premiership fixture at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Thursday afternoon.
It’s a result that does not really help either club, with both adrift of the top eight and running out of matches to get into the top half of the log.
Chiefs were looking to take their superb continental form into the league, and against a side that has historically being a thorn in their side, Amakhosi would need to be proactive.
Samir Nurkovic was felled in the area in the 11th minute by Vusi Sibiya, an act that was waived on by the ref, much to the ire of the Chiefs bench.
Nurkovic was back at it not long after, this time the Serb was adjudged to be offside, but the intent was there from Gavin Hunt’s side.
Baroka was giving as good as they got, and keeping the Chiefs defence on their toes, half-hour in and it was still nil-nil although not for a lack of effort by either side.
For most of the half, there was no shortage of service into the penalty area, but the finishing was sorely lacking, time and again.
There were none more guilty of squandering good crosses than Khama Billiat, back from injury and getting a league start after his Champions League heroics.
At halftime, the score was goalless, with plenty for both sides to work on, given their less than stellar league positions.
Second-half performance
Into the second half and it was more of the same, this time Baroka was taking the lead, but the end result remained frustration for the coaching staff.
It took until just before the hour mark for Lebogang Manyama to break the deadlock, he played a neat one-two with Billiat before rounding Oscarine Masuluke, to score his fourth league goal of the season and put Chiefs one-nil up.
Into the last ten minutes and Baroka went on the attack, Evidence Makgopa got the all-important equaliser, his sixth of the league campaign, as the two sides continued their scrap to get into the top eight. And despite throwing the kitchen sink at each other as the clock ran out, 1-1 was how it ended.
