Chippa seek redemption against Polokwane under KuGompo lights

Chippa United will be chasing redemption when they meet Polokwane City in the Betway Premiership at Buffalo City Stadium in KuGompo City on Saturday (8pm).

In September the Chilli Boys were well on track to securing a valuable point away from home. But in the 94th minute Tholo Matuludi pulled off a smash and grab in broad daylight with a net-bulging header at the Old Peter Mokaba stadium to help Rise and Shine to a 2-1 victory.

Chippa left empty-handed and devastated.

Story audio is generated using AI Seasoned footballer Ayabulela Konqobe says some of his most unforgettable moments on the pitch have come while wearing the Chippa United jersey. Now 30 and a devoted husband and father of two, Konqobe finds himself in his third chapter with Chippa. Originally from Cape Town, Konqobe joined Chippa in 2017 and stayed in Gqeberha for just six months before going back to AmaZulu. The attacking midfielder returned to the Gqeberha team in 2021 after playing for Ekenäs IF in Finland. He played briefly for Chippa in 2021 before signing with Cape Town All Stars, then departed again in 2022. The player was without a club when he joined Chippa for the third time in October 2022. He has now spent nearly four years with the team. “I feel like this is where I played most of my football,” Konqobe said. “This is where everything for me started professionally, and I will also be thankful to the Mpengesi family for always being there for me. “I think I came back three times, and they have always taken care of my family and me, and I will always reward them with hard work and dedication. “My time here has been so amazing.” Konqobe has been a regular starter for Chippa United during the 2025/26 campaign. He recently scored his second goal of the season in their 2-2 draw against Magesi FC. He grew up in the Ajax Cape Town development structure. He also played for SuperSport United, Thanda Royal Zulu, Richards Bay, Steenberg United, and Cape Town All Stars. “I started playing from a young age; my family had a soccer team called Cultural Roots FC,” said Konqobe. “So, I started playing for them, and then from there I went to Vasco Da Gama under nine, where I was scouted by Ajax. “I then joined Ajax Cape Town at the age of 10. I was in the development; from there I got a national team call-up playing for the SA U17 and U20. “I think I was just destined to play soccer, and this is where I am at now.” As a former captain of the SA U20 national team, Konqobe said that early leadership experience has helped him to understand his teammates. “I think the experience itself of just being a leader helps you in any role in how to understand people and how to understand your teammates. “Also, how do you help yourself here and there? “So I think that also helped me in understanding a lot of my teammates and also the different backgrounds of how people are. “Because we come from different backgrounds and different cultures.” Having played for the SA junior structures, he was asked if he’d one day like to join Bafana Bafana. “Yes, I would love to play for Bafana, but when the time is right and when the coach thinks the time is right, it will happen by God’s grace,” he replied. Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world. The Herald

As the season heads down the final straight, one wonders how meaningful that lost point will be in the team’s top-eight aspirations or their battle to escape the drop zone.

The Eastern Cape team are 13th on the log with 23 points in 24 games. They are five points away from the top eight and have the same gap to the team that holds the last drop-zone spot. Moving out of relegation danger will be a priority for United before they turn their attention to hunting down a top-eight spot.

Polokwane City under lights at the Buffalo City Stadium will be another great opportunity for them to exact revenge from six months back. That is their mentor Vusi Vilakazi’s viewpoint.

“The primary responsibility is to make sure that the team is not going to relegation and not going to the playoffs. Other things will just be a cherry on top,” Vilakazi said.

After enduring a splendid honeymoon phase at the start of the year, not knowing the taste of defeat in four matches, the next four gave Vilakazi migraines.

His coaching tactics were trialled and tested as he lost against Mamelodi Sundowns, Marumo Gallants, and Stellenbosch and drew against Magesi. But they managed to bounce back at the right moment after their 1-0 victory over Siwelele on Tuesday.

After registering their first win of the year, Chippa United will be looking to remove themselves from the Betway Premiership relegation zone when they welcome Durban City at the Buffalo City Stadium in East London on Saturday (3.30pm). The Eastern Cape side are currently in 15th place on 12 points and a win or a draw could move them into 14th and off the chopping block. Chippa spent the majority of the first half of the season at the bottom of the log. But they received a boost when they beat Orbit College away 1-0 in Rustenburg thanks to a goal from Justice Figuareido last weekend. That was the team’s second victory all season. Head coach Vusumuzi Vilakazi wants the team to ride on the success of that Orbit result. But he also wants his side to be more clinical in front of goal in the Durban City game. Chippa’s offensive prowess has been disappointing this season. Together with Siwelele, they are the only teams that are yet to reach double figures in terms of goals scored. They will have to bury each chance they get and also tighten the screws on their defence, where they have conceded 21 goals. Durban City are among the teams with a good scoring ratio, so they pose a real threat. They are sixth with 25 points and are seven away from log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns. “We still need to look at Durban City’s structure and approach. We’ll watch how they play and plan accordingly,” Vilakazi said during the week. There will be some needles on the bench when City coach Sinethemba Badela marks his return to the Eastern Cape since he was shown the door by Chippa at the start of the season. Badela only took charge of Chippa for two games — against Mamelodi Sundowns and Durban City. The 1-0 defeat to his current employers in August was among the reasons listed by insiders for his sacking. His third game was supposed to be in East London against TS Galaxy, but that never materialised. There is no doubt his mission will be to get a league double for Durban City over his former employers. Badela’s camp will have all the confidence they need, as they beat Polokwane City 1-0 in their previous league fixture. During the week, the Chippa camp was rocked by reports that defender Nathan Fasika was closing on a deal with Libyan outfit Al Alhy Benghazi. Fasika joined at the start of the season. He arrived at the club exactly at the time when Badela was relieved of his duties. Chippa announced last week that they had acquired the services of Abbubaker Mobara. It will be interesting if Vilakazi will hand the 31-year-old former Orlando Pirates and AmaZulu FC player a go against the Durbanites. Daily Dispatch Click here to join the Daily Dispatch’s WhatsApp channel and get the latest news delivered straight to your phone.

Though Siwelele were more dominant offensively, out of the three chances at goal Chippa had, Sinoxolo Kwayiba hit the bullseye. That clinical execution will be vital again against Rise and Shine, who are inside the top eight.

The Polokwane team has been one of the trickiest opponents to play against this season. They maintain a low block and utilise quick transitions with counter-attacks or set pieces to score.

Only Orlando Pirates (twice), Kaizer Chiefs, AmaZulu, Orbit College and Durban City have managed to come back with three points. Those teams play a similar structure to Vilakazi.

Even as Chippa United face an increasingly uncertain future in the Betway Premiership, head coach Vusumuzi Vilakazi remains steadfast in his belief that the team will avoid relegation this soccer season. The Chilli Boys endured their eighth defeat of the season under the bright lights of the Orlando Stadium on Tuesday night, falling 2-0 to Orlando Pirates. Second-half goals from Evidence Makgopa and Oswin Appollis sucked the Gqeberha-based side deeper into the relegation zone as they lie bottom on the table, with only seven points from 13 matches. Vilakazi, or Kanu, as he is popularly known in the soccer fraternity, is the fifth coach to take the hot seat at the club since the start of the season. The 43-year-old replaced Luc Eymael, who is so far the only coach to have managed a win this season. Vilakazi acknowledged the challenge of leading struggling teams but is adamant that Chippa United will avoid relegation. “I know that it’s unfortunate that I always come to the teams that are fighting relegation, and I am expected to do miracles, but I still maintain what I said when I came to Chippa, that Chippa will never go down,” the coach said. “They will never be relegated.” He attributes his confidence to what he referred to as the players’ potential. “We needed to align a few areas in terms of their psychological part in terms of believing in themselves,” Vilakazi said. “We have good young stars; we have Asanele Bonani, who played today and nearly scored a goal. “He never played in the PSL before; he was playing for the Diski team and he is the leading goal scorer. “So, once you give them the confidence and the belief in themselves, I think they will do wonders. “With such commitment and hard work, I strongly believe we will do wonders, and we will save this team.” Reflecting on their disappointing setback to Pirates, the coach believes there are many positives to take from the match. He said they went to the Orlando Stadium with one plan in mind, and that was to beat the in-form Buccaneers, but unfortunately things did not go their way. “Obviously, when it comes to the results, it’s not the result that one was looking for. “We came with a plan. We wanted to be victorious on the day, but it was just not meant to be. “However, I think there were a lot of positives that we can take out of this game. “There is improvement in our games, but improvement within the competition is where the problem is. “We can just take the positives out of this one and move on.” Chippa next play Siwelele away on Saturday before returning to close their programme off for the year against Kaizer Chiefs at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Wednesday (7.30pm). The Herald

His philosophy at Chippa has been for the team to hold onto ball possession and use his wingers and fullbacks to stretch defences, forcing gaps inside. Sergio Kammies, Bongani Sam, Boy Madingwane, Malebogo Modise, who have occupied those positions in the past few games for Vilakazi, will be key in dismantling the compact Polokwane backline system.

In the 57 games Vilakazi has coached across Richards Bay, AmaZulu, Golden Arrows and Chippa, he has only twice played against Polokwane. Both came in the 2023/24 season while he was at Richards Bay: a 0-0 draw in the league and a 3-2 victory in the Nedbank Cup.

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