Cape Town — Christian Saile, the DRC-born striker, has captured the imagination of the Kaizer Chiefs fans after a promising debut off the bench against hoodoo side Royal AM at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday.
Chiefs' eventual 2-0 win was spearheaded by defender Sifiso Hlanti, Ashley du Preez and Saile, who produced a second-half cameo and provided the assist for the team's second goal.
Salie is the third Congolese player to sign for Chiefs. He was preceded by goalkeeper Eshele Botende and forward Kabamba Musasa, both of whom have worn the black and gold with distinction in the past.
Not much was known of the 22-year-old Salie before but he has been plying his trade in Zambia with Nchanga Rangers. He helped them gain promotion to the MTN Super League at the end of last season.
His arrival on the field was a good omen for the team because four minutes later Hlanti scored with a header after he out-jumped the opposition defence to meet a Keagan Dolly free-kick.
Salie demanded the attention of Royal AM as his workmanlike performance allowed Chiefs to grab the initiative. His pace and power were difficult to contain and five minutes from the end he supplied Du Preez with the ball to give Chiefs a rare 2-0 triumph.
Salie had replaced Burundian Caleb-Bonfils Bimenyimana and may have done enough to secure his place in the next run-on XI.
Hlanti was not overly impressive in defence but his goal helped to put Chiefs on the road to victory. He may be overdoing his penchant to join attacks and will be of greater service if he remains in defence to concentrate on his premier duty, except at set-piece time.
Alongside him, Edmilson Dove had a great shift in the centre-back berth and produced an assured performance in the rearguard. He took his chances well to spark attacks from deep without neglecting his duties in defence.
Thanks to the confidence shown in him, Du Preez produced a vastly improved performance and caused problems early on when he dispossessed a Royal AM defender and then had an unsuccessful crack at goal.
The role that Chiefs decided for him was working well in this match and it was proving hard to contain. Late in the match, he scored the team's second goal and his third of the season.
Several other players stepped up for Chiefs against Royal AM. Coach Arthur Zwane may be saddled with a selection headache for Sunday afternoon's match against TS Galaxy at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.
News coming out of Chiefs' camp yesterday morning is that defenders Reeve Frosler and Dillan Solomons could be on the sidelines for some time.
Frosler suffered a jaw injury eight minutes into the match. His replacement Solomons went down late in the match with a shoulder injury.
Zwane said the technical staff will give some thought to who will replace these players.
“Whenever the team is doing well, we lose players to injuries," said Zwane.
"We have been unfortunate when it comes to losing key players when we need them the most.
"As coaches, we will come up with a plan because we have a very good squad that we have assembled this season.”
IOL Sport