Glamour Boys draw 36 000 crowd

[caption id="attachment_95379" align="alignright" width="261"] VICTORY DENIED: Kaizer Chiefs supporters, from left, Andisa Khumalo, Xolisa Zaleni and Nkosinathi Monkoswa show their ‘colours’ when the Amakhosi and Chippa United played out to a goalless draw yesterday Picture: FREDLIN ADRIAAN[/caption]

Ten-man squad hold defending champions to goalless draw

TENS of thousands of soccer fans descended on Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium yesterday to see home heroes Chippa United kick off their 2015-16 Premier Soccer League season against defending champions Kaizer Chiefs.

The spirits of the home fans were lifted when Chippa managed to hold the mighty Amakhosi to a 0-0 draw despite ending with only 10 players.

Nearly 36 000 people transformed the “Sunflower” into a sea of black and gold as fans came from far afield to watch their heroes in action on a chilly afternoon.

However, this did not deter fans from singing and dancing in the aisles.

The home side played the second half with 10 men after United midfielder Joseph Molangoane was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence eight minutes before the break.

The many Chiefs fans were super confident the Glamour Boys would make a winning start to the season.

One fan was so confident that Chiefs would walk away with all three points, he pranced around the stadium holding aloft a placard which read, “Not even the Marikana police can stop Kaizer Chiefs”.

Another Chiefs supporter, Thabani Mguni, 38, who travelled from Johannesburg to watch the match, said: “I am not happy with the result, but at least we never lost.”

Chippa supporter Roy Kureya, 25, said he was happy with the result and believed United had the potential to make it into the top eight of the league.

“This is a loss for Chiefs. Dropping two points can only dent their early title credentials,” Kureya said.

Aniel Brown, 15, from Jacksonville, believes United need to keep hold of their “important players” to mount a serious challenge for a top-half finish.

Attendance figures released by Access Management chief executive Chantal du Pisani revealed that 35 996 fans attended yesterday’s match.

Security was beefed up in light of last season’s pitch invasion which resulted in the death of a fan.

“We worked hand-in- hand with our partners and stakeholders in line with regulations . . .

“The security deployment was an ongoing matter and was amended according to the event and the expected crowd. This was done in conjunction with the PSL and SAPS,” Du Pisani said. ABRAVE 10-man Chippa United earned a vital point with a fighting 0-0 draw against Kaizer Chiefs in their opening Absa Premiership fixture at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium yesterday.

Chippa United went into the match having not managed a single point off the defending champions in four previous outings.

In the corresponding fixture last season, Chiefs beat the Chilli Boys 2-0 so yesterday’s result will have given the Bay team the world of confidence heading into the rest of the season.

Amakhosi returned to the stadium where they lifted the league trophy last season, but this time around the Chilli Boys were too hot for the Glamour Boys in front of 34 000 fans.

The visitors attacked first, with Bernard Parker’s attempt at goal going wide four minutes into the game.

Minutes later Chippa midfielder Mark Mayambela also went for the kill but failed to score.

Former Chippa striker David Zulu’s attempt to open the scoresheet failed as his effort went wide in the 10th minute.

Golden Arrows 1 University of Pretoria 0, Platinum Stars 0 Mamelodi Sundowns 0, Bidvest Wits 2 Ajax Cape Town 1, Polokwane City 3 Bloem Celtic 2, Free State Stars 0 Black Aces 1. -Amir Chetty, additional reporting by AFP