Celtic played to a 1-1 draw against Kaizer Chiefs on Sunday at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein.

In what was the new coach Veselin Jelušics’ first game in charge at Siwelele, the team came from 1-0 down to hold Steve Khompela’s much more fancied Amakhosi.

While Celtic didn’t beat the Glamour Boys in the PSL for the first time in many years, the team looked as good as they did before the untimely departure of Clinton Larsen in the 2015/16 season.

The Bafana Bafana defender, Erick Mathoho, broke the deadlock in the 37th minute after finding himself on the receiving end of a Keegan Buchanan corner, and this saw the Soweto Giants leading at half-time.

The former Celtic man, Buchanan, posed a real threat throughout the game, however, the home side’s defenders, especially the Man of the Match, Alfred Ndungane, and Wandisile Letlabika, stood their ground.

The battle between Letlabika and the Venezuelan striker, Gustavo Páez, was a real thrilling affair and we’re glad to report the former Bafana defender came out on top.

Celtic had their chances and had they used them better, they could have upset the Amakhosi.

Celtic eventually found their breakthrough in the 75th minute after Atusaye Nyondo converted from the spot after Lorenzo Gordinho handled in the area.

The Amakhosi coach, Steve Khompela, slammed the field at the Toyota Stadium numerous times but conceded that the draw was a fair result. “If we look at the penalty, well, penalties are penalties. There are stages were you think maybe the game could be allowed to flow a little bit more. One-one, could it be a true reflection of the game? I will say yes, it’s a true reflection of the game.”

The Celtic tactician, Jelušic, in his turn said that his chargers need to make use of their opportunities when they take on Clinton Larsen’s Golden Arrows this week. “I’m not sure how many times we had a shot on goal, but we came close to opens goals and we didn’t finalise.

“It’s definitely one aspect of the game that we must improve. We must be move decisive and faster in front of an open goal.”

Celtic travel to Lamontville, where they lock horns with Arrows on Wednesday evening, with kick-off at the Princess Magogo Stadium at 19:30. 

Morgan Piek OFM Sport