Amakhosi will face Maritzburg United in their first home league game of the 2022-23 DStv Premiership season on Tuesday evening, with the game starting at 19h30.
On National Women’s Day, they will welcome visitors from KwaZulu-Natal to the FNB Stadium, hoping to earn their first three points of the season.
A promising start
Chiefs opened the 2022-23 season, their 27th in the PSL and 53rd overall since the club’s inception in 1970, with a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Royal AM at Chatsworth Stadium.
Chiefs will be seeking to quickly rebound and build on the many positives from their opening game of the season, which saw some superb midfield play and a confident performance from Bruce Bvuma in goal. The Chiefs shot stopper produced several crucial stops and showed his skill, while newcomer Yusuf Maart and Keagan Dolly both stood out. This weekend, Maritzburg opened their league season with a 1-1 tie against Sekhukhune.
Next up is Maritzburg.
This will be the 33rd league encounter between the two clubs since the 2005-06 season. Over the previous 17 years, games between the clubs have been heated affairs, with both teams often exhibiting excellent offensive intent. Chiefs have defeated Maritzburg 15 times in their last 32 league games, with Maritzburg winning 7 and drawing the remaining 10. When the Chiefs have hosted Maritzburg, they have won 10 of their 16 home games against them, losing just four times and drawing twice.
Despite their previous domination over Maritzburg, Amakhosi will be aware of how difficult their opponents can be. Prior to previous season, the Chiefs were on a four-game losing streak in the league versus the Team of Choice (D2 L2).
That all changed in 2021-22, when the Chiefs overcame Maritzburg both at home and away. Opening, on November 21, 2021, the Chiefs snapped a four-year drought without an away victory against them by winning the first league match 1-0. Bernard Parker scored the game’s lone goal soon after the hour mark. The Chiefs subsequently accomplished a league double against them by winning the rematch 2-0 at home on December 21st. Khama Billiat and Nkosingiphile Ngcobo got it into the scoreboard this time. The Chiefs are now aiming for their third consecutive league victory against Maritzburg.
Charm for Women’s Day
Since the inception of National Women’s Day in 1994, Chiefs have had a lucky break on this national holiday. Over the last 27 years, the Chiefs have played five league games on August 9th, with a record of W2 D3. On National Women’s Day in 1995, Amakhosi played their maiden league game, which finished 0-0 versus Umtata Bush Bucks away from home. They also drew with Free State Stars and Chippa United in 2005-06 and 2015-16. They scored 1-0 triumphs against Bloemfontein Celtic in 2000-01 and Free State Stars in 2014-15 on National Women’s Day. On the 10th of August 1996, a day after National Women’s Day, the Chiefs won 1-0 away against Jomo Cosmos in their maiden Premier Soccer League encounter.
Amakhosi began their successful run to the MTN 8 title in 2008-09 with a 4-0 victory against Santos on August 9, 2008.