Chiefs take the high road to Swaziland

Kaizer Chiefs (3) 5

Pule 17, 29, Nomvete 57, 89, Nauseb 27

Mbabane Highlanders (1) 2

Zondo 43, Sibiya 75

Kaizer Chiefs ended their eight-year absence from African competition in emphatic fashion, producing a vintage display of attacking football to whip the Mbabane Highlanders in this Caf Cup first-round, first-leg game last night.

Chiefs scored five and were good for five more, but will be disappointed with the two goals they conceded on home soil.

The game started slowly with the Highlanders getting stuck into the Amakhosi, but the Chiefs midfield slowly took control and began stringing passes together and getting their strikers in behind the Swazi team's defence.

The home side came close to opening the scoring when Marco Mthembu headed just over the crossbar from Doctor Khumalo's corner in the 11th minute. Just five minutes later they got the opener with a well-worked goal. Robert Nauseb played the ball into the Highlanders' penalty area to Siyabonga Nomvete, who scooped a delightful return ball which eventually fell to Jabu Pule, who hammered home.

Pule was pushed up front by Chiefs coach Muhsin Ertugral to partner Nomvete in the absence of his other makeshift striker, Thabang Lebese, out with a hamstring injury, and was a revelation.

Nauseb, one of the PSL's best defenders, was also given a forward role by Ertugral, playing just behind the strikers. The move paid great dividends as he got Chiefs' second goal in the 26th minute, finishing off a great move which started deep in midfield and involved at least five Chiefs players and clinically put away by Nauseb.

Chiefs were rampant at this stage with their attacking trio of Pule, Nomvete and Nauseb carving holes in the Highlanders' defence with intelligent off-the-ball running. Pule got his second and Chiefs' third a minute before the half-hour mark, receiving the ball in space wide on the right from Mthembu and firing in a shot that Highlanders 'keeper Sipho Dube initially parried. The rebound went straight back to Pule, who made no mistake at the second attempt.

Nomvete had two good attempts before the break - the first engineered by Pule, the second by Mthembu - but the striker spurned them both.

Celumusa Vilakazi threw the Highlanders a lifeline three minutes before the break when he floated in an innocuous-looking free kick from wide on the right, which evaded the Chiefs defence, beat 'keeper Brian Baloyi and went in off the upright to make the halftime score 3-1.

Chiefs' key defender Gary Goldstone went off injured at halftime, but there was no letting up from the home side after the break.

Chiefs' fourth goal, in the 57th minute, was worked out on their Naturena training ground. From a set piece outside the box, Khumalo played the ball wide to Pule, who had peeled off the Highlanders wall towards the left and centred for Nomvete, who finally got his name on the scoresheet with the simplest of tap-ins at the near post.

Chiefs had numerous opportunities to kill off Highlanders, but it was the visitors' Menzi Sibiya who reduced the deficit when he evaded substitute Neil Winstanley and beat Baloyi with a low shot that deflected in off Winstanley to give the approximately 1 000 travelling Swazi supporters something to cheer about. It seemed that for all Chiefs' attacking endeavours they would rue their missed chances and slack defending to face an awkward return leg.

Just before the final whistle however, Nomvete got his second, slotting home another far-post tap-in off a good ball from Patrick Nvutho to restore Chiefs' comfortable cushion and send their supporters home happy.