Kaizer Chiefs head coach Arthur Zwane has heaped praise on Amakhosi’s defensive duo of Edmilson Dove and Siyabonga Ngezana following a DStv Premiership win over Royal AM on Sunday.
Chiefs got collected their first win of the year with a 2-0 victory over Royal AM thanks second-half goals from Sfiso Hlanti and Ashley Du Preez.
The win also brought an end to a run of three consecutive defeats for Amakhosi after losses to Sekhukhune United, AmaZulu and Mamelodi Sundowns respectively.
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The Glamour Boys also secured their first clean sheet of the year, with an unfamiliar defensive pairing of Edmilson Dove and Siyabonga Ngezana, while Brandon Petersen replaced Itumeleng Khune in goal.
Ngezana and Dove have played together just twice this season, during Chiefs' 3-1 win over Stellenbosch and a 2-1 loss to Chippa United in October.
"I must give credit to our defence, the central pairing of [Edmilson] Dove and Siya [Ngezana] in terms of the organisation and making sure that there’s not space behind," Zwane said post-match.
"They managed to control the space in front of them and behind, and also the players, the ball carriers at the time . It gave us that confidence, in terms of our midfielders; if the ball bypasses them, they know that those guys [defenders] will win their one-versus-one battles, so it [defensive-pairing] stabilised our midfield as well."
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Chiefs are in position five on the DStv Premiership log table, just a point behind rivals Orlando Pirates and will have a chance to climb further up when they meet TS Galaxy on Sunday.
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