JOHANNESBURG – Kaizer Chiefs bowed out of the Caf Confederation Cup on Saturday night as they went down 2-1 to Zesco United in a second leg match at the FNB Stadium.
Chiefs went into the match in need of two goals to level matters, having gone down 3-1 to Zesco in Ndola, Zambia last weekend.
However, the Amakhosi’s dream changed from hope to a nightmare when Jesse Were scored his third goal against them in two matches.
The Kenyan striker fired a low shot past Chiefs goalkeeper Virgil Vries with 10 minutes played.
Chiefs tried to take the game to the visitors, whose defence lay quite deep.
However, it was not Chiefs’ night, with Leonardo Castro, in particular, unable to convert a few chances in the first period.
Coach Ernst Middendorp made a double substitution at the start of the second half, with Madagascan midfielder Andriamirado ‘Dax’ Andrianarimanana replacing Castro and Kabelo Mahlasela on for Teenage Hadebe.
As hard as Chiefs tried to get back into the game, they eventually found themselves punished further when Were scored his second of the game in the 69th minute.
Chiefs midfielder Khama Billiat, who scored the SA club’s goal in the first leg, managed to find the back of the Zesco net deep into injury time in the second half.
By then, the damage had been done, and Zesco’s name will be in the hat for the next round of Confederation Cup action, with the draw set to be made on Monday.
Chiefs’ elimination from the tournament leaves the club with two potential competitions in which success can be achieved this season, in the form of the Premiership and Nedbank Cup.
The Amakhosi will take on ABC Motsepe League side Tornado FC in East London in a Nedbank Cup round of 32 match next Sunday.
Full time score: (Billiat 90’ +4) Kaizer Chiefs 1 : 2 Zesco United (Were 10’, 69’) #HailTheChief #Amakhosi4Life #KCAfrica4Life pic.twitter.com/os6tk2zGal
— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs) January 19, 2019