Kaizer Chiefs needed the heat of the North West Province to awake from the recent slumber as they ended Platinum Stars’ winning run and advanced to the Telkom Knockout quarter-finals with an emphatic 3-0 win on Sunday.

The massive smile on the face of coach Steve Komphela spoke both of his delight at a solid win but also relief from the pressure of failing to win in Chiefs’ recent run of games‚ including the MTN8 final.

Mulomowandau Mathoho had Chiefs ahead at half-time and a proficient second-half showing was crowned by goals from substitutes Siphelele Mthembu and George Maluleka in stoppage time at the end of the game.

“We scored at critical phases‚ first before half-time which gave us a lift. Our second-half performance was inspiring‚ very tactical. It was great to see players coming on and scoring.

“We are delighted to go through to the quarterfinal and our ambition is to go on and win it‚” said Komphela after the final whistle.

Mathoho scored from a far-post header while Mthembu and Maluleka produced delightful finishes on the counterattack as Stars were pushing forward for a late equaliser‚ leaving gaps to be exploited in defence.

“We had to lose some time but now we look to keep up our unbeaten run in the league. Maybe this might turn out to be good for us as a team‚” said Stars coach Cavin Johnson.

Masibusane Zongo took centre stage in the first half with his antics‚ including some outrageous ballet-like moves that delighted the crowd‚ and then with an elbow to the face of Chiefs skipper Siphiwe Tshabalala that should have seen him sent off on the half-hour mark.

Zongo‚ with his back to Tshabalala‚ elbowed his opponent firmly in the face but got away with a yellow card after contritely trying to deny his actions.

But it did have the effect of subduing his tricks as he looked to tire under the pressure put on him by Keegan Ritchie‚ deputising at left back for the suspended Tsepo Masilela.

Stars sought to make an early impact in the heat and came out like a house on fire‚ in more ways than one‚ with Reyaad Pieterse forced to make a diving save in just the third minute from Vuyo Mere’s free kick.

There was also a series of corners forced by the hosts‚ who moved the match to Moruleng because of pitch renovations at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in nearby Phokeng.

But after a water break in the 22nd minute‚ Stars seemed to lose their sparkle and Chiefs took the initiative‚ with several half-chances created mainly from the left flank.

Mere gave away a silly free kick for delaying the restart of play in the 44th minute and from the resultant set piece‚ Tshabalala floated a near perfect high ball for Mathoho to head home at the back post. He dived to get his head onto the ball and send it into the roof with goalkeeper Mbongeni Mzimela caught static on the line for Stars.

Camaldien Abraw should have made it 2-0 from close range midway through the second half as Chiefs had the better of the exchanges with Mzimela watching with relief as Tshabalala’s free kick in the 81st minute rattled the woodwork‚ bouncing back to safety.

But the ’keeper had no chance when Mthembu picked his spot and scored from close range three minutes into stoppage time‚ followed only seconds later by an audacious chip from Maluleka.