Kaizer Chiefs’ chances of finishing second in the DStv Premiership are all but over after suffering a 1-2 defeat to Swallows at Peter Mokaba Stadium yesterday.
They were outdone by goals from Gregory Damons and Bongani Sam, while Christian Saile scored for them.
With two matches remaining for them this season and five points behind second-placed Orlando Pirates, they will need to win all their games and hope the Buccaneers lose theirs.
The remaining matches are against SuperSport United, who are also fighting for second place and Cape Town City.
For Swallows, the victory was huge as they are now safe from relegation and moved to eighth on the table. This after they rekindled their battle to stave off relegation after their 1-0 victory over Maritzburg United last week and followed it up with another victory yesterday.
They came into this match with their confidence high after successive victories and made the perfect start when Damons netted the opener against the run of play with the game just six minutes old.
Damons beat Njabulo Ngcobo to a long ball and burst clear to see his initial shot blocked by Itumeleng Khune but grabbed the follow-up to roll into an empty net.
Khune made a long-awaited return for Amakhosi after Brandon Peterson’s suspension and could not do anything to stop them from defeat.
But after scoring, Swallows sat back and invited pressure from Chiefs.
And it was not long before Amakhosi found the equaliser through Saile who got on the end of Mduduzi Shabalala’s free kick and poked it in at the far post.
With the match balanced, it was Swallows who restored their lead moments later when Sam found space on the near side and directed a wayward overhead kick by Keagan Allan past Khune.
Swallows then allowed Chiefs to have possession, but didn’t give them any openings in their half, and while they attacked, they looked lively and went into the interval with a slender lead.
Chiefs returned with more energy in the second and started finding openings. They came close to getting an equaliser.
Swallows were happy to sit back and protect their lead as they didn’t trouble Khune, who was a spectator in the second half.
Chiefs continued to pile pressure on Swallows, who could not get out of their half as they defended deep.
Swallows defended well to hang on their victory.
The match was delayed for a few minutes after Allan struggled to breathe and was taken to the change room.
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