{"id":68082,"date":"2025-03-25T11:12:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T09:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=68082"},"modified":"2025-03-25T11:12:15","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T09:12:15","slug":"chiefs-bounce-back-from-shock-defeat-highlands-park-continue-winning-ways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=68082","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs bounce back from shock defeat, Highlands Park continue winning ways"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_56085\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-56085\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-56085\" src=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Steven-Mendes-400x267.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-56085\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steven Mendes. Photo. Kaizer Chiefs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">At the start of the 2025 <strong>Gauteng Development League<\/strong> season, <strong>Kaizer Chiefs<\/strong> experienced a few bumps in the road, beginning with a 2-2 draw against <strong>Supersport United<\/strong> in the season opener. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">Coach <strong>David Mathebula<\/strong>&#8216;s side, then, crashed out of the Top Eight competition, losing in the semi-finals, before hitting yet another brick wall at <strong>Randburg AFC,<\/strong> on Friday. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">They were handed a humbling 1-2 defeat, a loss that suggested they&#8217;re perhaps not as powerful a unit as they appeared to be last season. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">However, teams tend to reveal their true character in periods of struggle and Mathebula&#8217;s team did just that when they hosted <strong>East Rand Athletic Club<\/strong> at Naturena, on Sunday, following their loss to Randburg. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">In a morale-boosting performance, Chiefs registered a convincing 5-1 victory.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Football - Kaizer Chiefs vs East Rand Athletic Club - Gauteng Development League - 23 March 2025\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F_4_oYxZf30?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">While Chiefs have had their struggles, coach <strong>Sifiso Mnguni<\/strong>&#8216;s <strong>Highlands Park<\/strong>, the defending two-time league champions, continue to quietly chip away in defence of their crown. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">They completed a clean sweep on the weekend, beating <strong>Panorama FC<\/strong> 4-1 away from home before going on to outlast a stubborn Kathorus Hyper Academy outfit 2-1 at <strong>Balfour Park<\/strong> on Sunday. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">After beating Chiefs on Friday, Randburg AFC wrapped up a good weekend for the club with a comfortable 3-0 victory over <strong>Wits Junior<\/strong> at <strong>Marks Park<\/strong>, which meant Wits exited the long weekend without a point after their fixture against <strong>Mamelodi Sundowns <\/strong>was postponed. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">Sundowns ran rampant against Panorama FC on Sunday, handing out a 9-0 thrashing, while <strong>Tuks, <\/strong><strong>TS Galaxy,<\/strong> and <strong>Supersport United<\/strong> ran over their opponents, winning all their fixtures over the long weekend. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>RESULTS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\"><strong>Friday, 21 March<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">Panorama 1-4 Highlands Park<br \/>\n<\/span><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">Randburg AFC 2-1 Kaizer Chiefs<br \/>\n<\/span>Wits Junior vs Mamelodi Sundowns (Postponed)<br \/>\n<span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">Kathorus Hyper Academy 1-0 Elspark United Academy<br \/>\n<\/span><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">East Rand Athletic Club 0-4 SuperSport United<br \/>\n<\/span><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">TS Galaxy 3-2 Seven&#8217;s Academy<br \/>\n<\/span><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">Remember Elite Sport Academy 4-2 Joburg City<br \/>\n<\/span><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">Jomo Cosmos 1-4 School of Excellence<br \/>\n<\/span><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">Tuks 3-0 Rockefvs <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\"><strong>Sunday, 23 March<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">Wits Junior 0-3 Randburg AFC<br \/>\n<\/span>Mamelodi Sundowns 9-0 Panorama<br \/>\n<span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">Highlands Park 2-1 Kathorus Hyper Academy<br \/>\n<\/span><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">SuperSport United 3-2 Remember Elite Sport Academy<br \/>\n<\/span><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">Kaizer Chiefs 5-1 East Rand Athletic Club<br \/>\n<\/span><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">Seven&#8217;s Academy 1-1 Jomo Cosmos<br \/>\n<\/span><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">Elspark United Academy 0-1 TS Galaxy<br \/>\n<\/span><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">Joburg City 0-1 Tuks<br \/>\n<\/span><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\">School of Excellence 2-0 Rockefvs<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the start of the 2025 Gauteng Development League season, Kaizer Chiefs experienced a few bumps in the road, beginning with a 2-2 draw against Supersport United in the season opener. Coach David Mathebula&#8216;s side, then, crashed out of the Top Eight competition, losing in the semi-finals, before hitting yet another brick wall at Randburg [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":56085,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=68082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/56085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=68082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=68082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=68082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}