At long last, Maart and Nabi delivered when it mattered most for Kaizer Chiefs in Nedbank Cup final

Comment by Ashfak Mohamed

WITH less than four minutes of stoppage time left, the TV cameras panned to Kaizer Motaung Junior in the stands of the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

The former Kaizer Chiefs striker and son of chairman Kaizer could hardly watch the closing stages of the Nedbank Cup final against Orlando Pirates in Durban on Saturday.

And all the Chiefs fans around Mzansi and even at the stadium would have had the same emotions.

Motaung Junior had his head in his hands, unwilling to look up and see the mighty Amakhosi survive the final seconds.

But the Chiefs supporters in Durban cheered every save made by goalkeeper Brandon Peterson in the last dramatic moments of the title decider, willing on the referee to blow the final whistle.

Eventually the moment came, and relief for Chiefs, who ended their 10-season trophy drought with a 2-1 win.

Coach Nasreddine Nabi strode onto the pitch at the end and pointed to the Chiefs badge on his jacket, once again underlining his commitment to the cause.

Nabi has been called all sorts of names by Chiefs fans, who have even begun calling for his head despite the Tunisian only arriving at Naturena this season and insisting that it would take time to build a competitive team – that it was a “process”.

Being ninth on the Premiership log is never good enough for Kaizer Chiefs, and last week’s 2-1 league defeat to Pirates wouldn’t have helped Nabi’s cause either.

Now the 59-year-old can breathe again, having finally brought some much-needed silverware to the Phefeni Glamour Boys.

And what about captain fantastic Yusuf Maart.

He is another much-maligned figure in the Amakhosi set-up, with his leadership questioned continuously as Chiefs dropped down the league log and were knocked out of other competitions.

The 29-year-old midfielder from Atlantis, on the West Coast near Cape Town, delivered when it mattered most.

Maart rifled home the winner in classy fashion with his left foot with 10 minutes to go – following Gaston Sirino’s early penalty and Evidence Makgopa’s equaliser for Pirates – to start the party for the Chiefs supporters, who have suffered many difficult times during the last decade, but now finally have a reason to smile and wear their jerseys with pride.

Spare a thought for outgoing Pirates coach Jose Riveiro, who was hoping that his team could defend their title and give him a fitting farewell.

It was not to be for the Spaniard, who will wonder what went wrong for the Buccaneers as they were also knocked out of the CAF Champions League semi-finals, and are unlikely to catch Mamelodi Sundowns in the Premiership race either.

But for now, it’s all about Kaizer Chiefs, who are back with a bang.

It was just too long a wait since their last real trophy, the Premiership in the 2014/15 season under coach Stuart Baxter.

One cup triumph shouldn’t paper over the cracks in this Chiefs outfit, but at least it gives Nabi and his squad a base to work from next season.

Let’s hope that the most popular club in South African football can live up to the hype and actually contend for the Premiership title.

But, at long last, Chiefs fans can shout: Amakhosi for Life!