No fans, no problem: Chivaviro, Saile steer shaky Chiefs past desperate Spurs in closed-door battle

It was closer in the final minutes than Kaizer Chiefs had hoped it would be as the Soweto giants held on nervously to a 3-2 scoreline for a crucial DStv Premiership win over relegation-threatened Cape Town Spurs on Wednesday at an empty FNB Stadium.

Amakhosi were fined by the Premier Soccer League Disciplinary Committee (PSL DC) for their unruly fan behaviour in three previous matches and additionally ordered the club to play one match behind closed doors.

The fixture against Spurs was the curtain raiser for a much bigger match set for Saturday afternoon when Chiefs welcome arch-rivals Orlando Pirates for a league Soweto derby clash at the same venue which is expected to be a sold-out affair.

The Buccaneers were made to work hard on Tuesday against Sekhukhune United but ultimately passed the test through Thabiso Monyane’s late strike which earned head coach Jose Riveiro’s charges much-needed three points.

Twenty-four hours later, Amakhosi were hoping to replicate their foes but against Spurs, who came into the match defeating Pirates just a week prior, their first and only win as they seek to climb out of the relegation zone.

However, that desire was crushed within 15 minutes of the tie, as Chiefs did not have to do much to unlock a defence which has been utterly poor all season as influential South American midfielder Edson Castillo sliced between two Spurs defenders to head home the opener. Ten minutes later Ranga Chivaviro found himself in the right spot at the perfect time as he tapped in from close range to score his first goal in Amakhosi colours since joining before the start of the 2023/24 campaign.

Spurs, however, had ammunition to strike back and Luvuyo Phewa did just that for Sean Connor’s side before the half-time