Soweto derby memory: Kaizer Chiefs’ class of 1974 were ‘Ace’

When Kaizer Chiefs really imprinted their names indelibly on South African football in 1974, they did so in emphatic style in romping to a famous first National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) title.

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Kaizer Chiefs were unstoppable from the first kick of the ball that season, to the last, scoring an incredible 106 goals in 30 matches, and finishing nine points ahead of league runners-up Moroka Swallows.

The irrepressible Patrick ‘Ace’ Ntsoelengoe was unstoppable in 1974, scoring no fewer than 36 league goals.

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One of them came in an amazing 4-3 win for the Amakhosi in the Soweto derby at Orlando Stadium on 6 July, with Abednigo ‘Shaka” Ngcobo scoring a brace and Johnny ‘Magwegwe’ Mokoena also on the scoresheet for the Amakhosi that day as they come out on the right end of a seven-goal thriller.

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He is arguably Kaizer Chiefs’ greatest footballer and ‘Ace’ had “football brain like no other” recalls his team-mate at the time, Jerry Sadike.

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“Ace could pass, he could create space, he made it easy for you to play alongside. And of course he could score goals himself, and he banged in goals by the bucketful that year,” says Sadike.

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Another prolific scorer for the Amakhosi in 1974 was Johannes “Big Boy” Kholoane, who scored 20 league goals as Kaizer Chiefs romped to the league title.

Kholoane was a speedy left winger, who wreaked havoc in a free, floating attacking role.

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“We played as a team,” Kholoane says of the Kaizer Chiefs side of 1974.

“We were flexible, continuously changing positions with each other. There was a great understanding between all the players – we were a well-oiled machine,” says Kholoane.

“Big Boy” failed to register one of Kaizer Chiefs’ total of seven league Soweto derby goals in 1974, but a 3-0 win in the Soweto derby in the final clash of the 1974 season put the icing on the cake on a memorable year for the Amakhosi.

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