Kaizer Chiefs end pre-season with Toyota cup victory as Da Cruz praises team display

Kaizer Chiefs rounded off their pre-season preparations with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Zimbabwean outfit Scottland FC in the Toyota Cup on Sunday, giving head coach Fernando Da Cruz plenty of positives ahead of the new 2026/27 Betway Premiership campaign.

Played at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace, the match was settled by an excellent first-half finish from rising star Mfundo Vilakazi, whose goal proved enough to secure the trophy for Amakhosi.

Vilakazi makes the difference

The decisive moment came in the opening half when Vilakazi showed determination to burst into the penalty area, shrug off a defensive challenge and calmly fire a low shot into the far corner. Although the goalkeeper got a hand to the effort, he was unable to prevent the ball from crossing the line.

It capped another encouraging performance from the young forward, who continues to impress during Chiefs’ pre-season preparations.

Da Cruz pleased with squad mentality

After the match, Da Cruz praised his side’s attitude, revealing the coaching staff deliberately rotated two different starting line-ups as they continued assessing the squad before the league season begins.

“It was a difficult game because we played two starting XIs,” Da Cruz said.

The Chiefs coach admitted his players faced a physically demanding challenge against opponents who are already in the middle of their domestic campaign.

“They were at a different physical level from us because they are in the middle of their season and we are still in pre-season.”

Despite the testing conditions, Da Cruz was delighted with both the team’s collective performance and Vilakazi’s individual display.

“I am very happy for Vilakazi because he worked hard defensively but was also able to score.

“It was a difficult win, but a collective win. The players who came in helped the starters, and it was a good mindset from our team.”

Chiefs taking cautious approach with Bradley Cross

There was some concern among Kaizer Chiefs supporters after left-back Bradley Cross was seen limping during the encounter.

However, Da Cruz played down fears over the defender, explaining that the club is carefully managing his workload after his recent involvement with Bafana Bafana at the FIFA World Cup.

“He is a very important player, but he had a short pre-season and we have to take our time with him. We will see in a few weeks.”

The coach suggested there is no intention to rush Cross back to full fitness, with the focus remaining on having him ready for the long season ahead.

Focus shifts to Betway Premiership opener

With pre-season now complete, Da Cruz says the immediate priority is recovery before turning attention to Chiefs’ opening fixture of the new campaign.

“The next step for the team is recovery over the next few days, then we will start to prepare for the next game on Saturday against promoted Kruger United.”

Kaizer Chiefs will travel to Mbombela for their opening Betway Premiership fixture, aiming to build on last season’s third-place finish and mount an even stronger title challenge in 2026/27.