06 Mar 2022

 Mochudi Center Chiefs marked their return to the national stadium in three years with a thumping 3-1 victory over Masitaoka during an Orange FA cub last 48 encounter on Saturday.
Khumoetsile Kufigwa was the hero of the day scoring a brace for Chiefs to secure a place in the last 32 of the tournament.

It was Masitaoka though, who drew blood first after just 6minutes through Olebogeng Ramotse’s well-struck convention from a calculated corner kick which was orchestrated from the training fields.
The Kgatleng side, nonetheless looked considerably brighter despite going a goal down, pressing with more purpose and attacking with a much better plan. They were rewarded through a Kufigwa goal, nullifying Masitaoka’s lead in the 30th minute.

The goal brought Chiefs back in the game as they found their rhythm and played with more zeal and confidence.
Kufigwa’s and Anorld Pampore proved fatal to Masitaoka, with the latter providing the former with an assist on the 43 minutes to put Chiefs a goal up going into half time.In a bid to claw their way back into the tie, Masitaoka sent in wave after wave of attack in quest for an equaliser, but the resolute Chiefs defence marshalled by the towering Donald Rapula and Gopolang Mbambo thwarted their opponent’s efforts.

Last season’s FA cup finalists, Masitaoka were their own worst enemy considering a third goal from an embarrassing mistake from goal keeper Tumisang Selolwane who palmed the ball in to his own net in the dying minutes of the game.

Masitaoka’s gaffer Ofentse Mabeo, in his post-match interview was quick to come to his goalie’s defense cautioning that his brilliance should never be over shadowed by a once off performance.“Selolwane is such an excellent goal keeper and today’s performance does not take away the fact he was instrumental in the build up to the team’s BTC promotion keeping eight clean sheets in 11 games, that is clear testament to his brilliance,” he said.

For his part, Chiefs head coach applauded his team for putting up a solid performance against a team which is a division above them
“We put up a strong performance to keep Masitaoka at bay and we were always solid and compact in the middle. I am glad that my team was not rattled when they conceded a goal that earlyin the game, and our ball retention and intensity improved as the game matured,” he said. ENDS