Forget Glody Lilepo! Cedric Kaze raves about two stars who shone as Kaizer Chiefs moved above Orlando Pirates on Premier Soccer League table

On Wednesday night, Kaizer Chiefs were away at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium playing Marumo Gallants in the Premier Soccer League.

A stunning strike by Glody Lilepo was enough to hand the visitors a deserved 1-0 victory which was their third in a row across all competitions.

The result left the Glamour Boys second on the table with 30 points from 15 games, just two fewer than the defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns, who laboured to a 2-0 win over Sekhukhune United on Monday evening.

Orlando Pirates, who have played 13 games and are scheduled to host Magesi FC on Saturday, have collected 29 points, which places them third in the log.

In their current form, it seems Chiefs can't be ignored, as they have what it takes to go all the way.

Co-coach Cedric Kaze is delighted after the win over Marumo Gallants, but explained why Siphesihle Ndlovu and Flavio da Silva deserved praise for their victory registered by the Soweto giants.

"We are happy for the three points. I believe that we didn’t start the game well. The first half was a bit sloppy, a little bit reactive," the Burundian said in his post-match interview.

"We had to tell the players that we really want the three points, we need to go out there and get on the front-foot and I believe the second half was much, much better, and what a goal.

"What a goal, we are very happy to get the three points, and we are now going to focus on our CAF Confederation Cup game on Sunday," he continued.

"We knew that sometimes players who are getting much time struggle a bit, and especially on the field when there were a lot of 50-50 duals.

"We are happy with the contribution of Ndlovu and Silva when they came in; they stabilised the team, and we were able to be more threatening on our attack," Kaze concluded.

Lebohang Maboe put up a decent shift to help Chiefs claim maximum points and was eventually recognized as he won a Man-of-the-Match Award.

"It's been a very, very tough couple of months for me, but I'd like to thank the man above for the talent that he's given me and for the opportunities that I get to be on the field," the former Mamelodi Sundowns player told SuperSport TV.

"Coming back to the game, it wasn't an easy one. Tough opponents, they also wanted to impose themselves, but I think we wanted it more than they did, hence we got the results [on Wednesday night].

"I can describe my game in one word: 'maestro'. I think I had to calm things down a bit, I felt like at times the game was going back and forth," he added.

"So, at times you just needed to control the game a bit just to boost our confidence and to just keep the ball a bit, and I think that happened very well in the first half.

"In the second half, not so much. But we got the results, and that's all that matters right now," Maboe concluded.

On Sunday, Chiefs will host ZESCO United in Group C of the CAF Confederation Cup outing hoping to get maximum points.

Last weekend, they won 1-0 away to boost their chances of making it out of the pool, and with the Zambian heavyweights coming at the FNB Stadium, the task seems easier. 

There is no doubt that the Wednesday win will boost the confidence of the players ahead of the continental fixture.