Arrows stage brave fightback to beat Chiefs

Golden Arrows produced another resilient display to beat Kaizer Chiefs 3-2 at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Arthur Zwane's side made the perfect start when Sfiso Hlanti opened the scoring on eight minutes, only to be pegged back by Ntsako Makhubela's equaliser on the stroke of halftime.

The Glamour Boys wasted little time in reforging the lead through Mduduzi Shabalala early in the second half but a brace from Knox Mutizwa handed them a fourth defeat in 2023.

Amakhosi remain fifth in the DStv Premiership standings, three points adrift of the top three, with Abafana Bes'thende climbing all the way up to ninth.

Chiefs were looking to make it three games unbeaten in the league, while Arrows sought to halt a two-match losing streak which pushed them further towards the relegation zone.

The hosts threatened to break the deadlock after just two minutes when Siyethemba Sithebe curled a shot narrowly wide of the right post from range.

They didn't have to wait much longer for the opener, however, as Hlanti directed a header into the bottom right corner of the net from an eighth-minute corner to get Amakhosi off to a flyer.

Keagan Dolly was unfortunate not to double the Soweto giants' lead eight minutes later after he did well to bring the ball under control inside the box before seeing his clever chip bounce off the left post.

Sithebe went close again on 19 minutes with a half-volley that flew inches over the crossbar, while Arrows had their first sniff at goal four minutes later when Mutizwa tested Brandon Petersen from inside the area.

Chiefs continued to carve out openings, with Christian Saile forcing Siyabonga Mbatha to punch his shot away in the 32nd minute and Ashley Du Preez was unable to hit the target on the rebound.

Mbatha was called into action again six minutes later to deny Yusuf Maart from distance before Mutizwa failed to keep his header down from Pule Mmodi's cross on 43 minutes.

However, the Durban outfit hit back in first-half stoppage time as Makhubela beat Petersen from close range after being picked out by Mutizwa.

Amakhosi gave the perfect response though, as Shabalala restored their lead just two minutes after the restart with a clinical finish from inside the box.

Arrows nearly levelled matters again soon afterwards but Petersen was on hand to keep out strikes from Mutizwa and Siyabonga Khumalo, while Velemseni Ndwandwe fired just wide of the near post from a close range on 57 minutes.

But parity was restored for the second time on 69 minutes when Mutizwa fired home with conviction from inside the area following good work by Khumalo to set him up.

Matters got even worse for the Glamour Boys nine minutes later as Mutizwa struck again to cap off a fine team move from one side of the pitch to the other.

Arrows defended well in the closing stages and kept Chiefs away from their goal to clinch a vital three points.

Kaizer Chiefs (1) 2 (Hlanti 8', Shabalala 47')

Golden Arrows (1) 3 (Makhubela 45+1', Mutizwa 69', 78')

Kaizer Chiefs: B. Petersen, S. Ngezana, Z. Kwinika, T. Dube, S. Hlanti, S. Sithebe, Y. Maart, A. Du Preez (K. Sekgota 78'), M. Shabalala (P. Nange 68'), K. Dolly (H. Mashiane 83'), C. Saile (C. Bimenyimana 68').

Golden Arrows: S. Mbatha, S. Hlatshwayo, T. Mantshiyane, D. Lunga, S. Ndlovu, N. Sibiya (R. Moon 61'), L. Dube (S. Khumalo 34'), K. Mutizwa, N. Makhubela, V. Ndwandwe, P. Mmodi.