Watch VideoWalking wounded: Redemption on the line in Soweto derby clash as Kaizer Chiefs welcome Orlando Pirates

Kaizer Chiefs player Paseka Mako challenges for the ball against Stellenbosch FC midfielder Devin Titus during the Betway Premiership League at the FNB stadium. WE’VE GOT A SOWETO DERBY of the walking wounded on our hands South Africa!Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirateswill clash in the country’s foremost match on Saturday nursing the pains of defeat. It is a recipe for a cracker of a match right?

The need for redemption should surely serve as added inspiration for the local giants. Chiefs, having enjoyed a good laugh at seeing their arch-rivals suffer back-t-back defeats toMamelodi Sundownsand Casric Stars in the league and the Nedbank Cup respectively last week, spurned an opportunity to send their opponents quaking in their boots here Tuesday night. Instead of confirming the pre-match statement of their co-coach Ben Youssef Khalil that they are still in the running for the championship, Amakhosi contrived to make their title dreams just that – dreams.

The sooner they wake up to the realisation that possession football and fancy build-up play with countless passes without incisive finish does not deliver silverware the better for the Glamour Boys who look set for a barren season. On a cool evening that saw a sizeable crowd of their loyal fans descending upon the calabash, Amakhosi looked all swanky as they knocked the ball about, their entries into the final third sending the crowd into frenzied excitement. But with just one of those inroads finding its way past Sage Stephens the risk of them being pegged up always loomed large against a team coached by a man renowned for his knack of counter-attack play.

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Gavin Hunt’s Stellies eventually cancelled out Chiefs’ lead before stealing the maximum points late on to leave Amakhosi with a massive hangover going into Saturday’s derby. How Khalil and his colleague Cedric Kaze deal with it in the next two days will become clear on Saturday when they face a Pirates side with stresses of their own following their exit from the Nedbank Cup that was preceded by a league defeat that has seen champions Sundowns somewhat back in the title race driving seat. Kaizer Chiefs supporters a picture of dissappointment after their side lost 2-1 to Stellenbosch in the Betway Premiership League match at the FNB stadium on Tuesday night.

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