Chippa United were left heartbroken after Polokwane City pulled a smash-and-grab in the dying minutes to earn them a 2-1 victory in the Betway Premiership at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
With just seconds to the sound of the final whistle, Thabang Matuludi put a header in the back of the net for Rise and Shine to hand Chippa their fifth league defeat.
The loss means that Chippa are yet to get a win on the road and have moved back to the bottom of the log with four points after seven games.
The Eastern Cape team came into the game in high spirits after getting their first win of the league in the midweek clash against Orbit College in East London. They showed offensive intent from the get-go.
That positive mindset was rewarded as Chippa took the lead just five minutes into the game through Ayabulela Konqobe.
From a cross, Konqobe finished off with a right-footed shot from inside the box to the bottom left corner.
That served as Chippa’s first away goal this season.
It helped them control affairs in the middle of the park in terms of possession and they were able put in one-two passes.
Manuel Kambala almost put in an immediate response for Polokwane City but his right-footed shot from outside the box was skewed to the right.
Fifteen minutes into the game, Chippa came close to adding a second goal but Nathan Fasika’s header from a difficult angle after a corner missed the goalpost.
Momentum swung in Polokwane’s favour with 15 minutes to halftime.
They came close to scoring on a couple of occasions, notably when Mpho Mvundlela hit the bar with a left-footed shot from close range.
Chippa United defender Seun Ndlovu conceded a penalty with a handball in the penalty area at the brink of halftime.
Lebohang Nkaki did the honours for City and scored the penalty, leaving both teams 1-1 going to their respective dressing rooms.
Chippa head coach Luc Eymael made a tactical change straight from the break and introduced Goodman Mosele in place of Sirgio Kammies.
The decision was to tighten up the defence in the midfield. It worked out well for Chippa as City found it hard to string in their short passes and bypass the midfield.
But Polokwane continued to pile on the pressure and Chippa played most of the opening stages of the second stanza on the back foot.
They would occasionally catch Polokwane on the counter, but the home team did well in quickly getting back and sorting out their defensive line.
The score remained deadlocked at 1-1 as both teams were flat in terms of their attack in the latter stages of the game.
Chippa’s next game is against Sekhukhune United at the new Peter Mokaba Stadium just up the street on Wednesday.
Daily Dispatch
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