Popa raised the hopes of their supporters in the 24th minute when dangerman Onalethata Tshekiso broke the deadlock with a fine header from a rebound. But credit has to go to winger Thapelo 'Pepe' Balepi who neutralized Chiefs' defender Boniface Makolo and hit a shot, which came off the crossbar with Chiefs' goalkeeper Noah Maposa beaten.
Four minutes later, Rollers were awarded a penalty by referee Lekgotla Johannes after Maposa brought down Tshekiso inside the box. Sekhana 'Nandos' Koko stepped up to send Mapantsula 2-0 up. Rollers knocked the ball around with confidence and their unbelieving supporters got hope that they will get a first win in five games. At this moment Chiefs supporters sat quietly wondering what could have gone wrong with their side. If Kaone Molefe was more efficient, Magosi could have been 4-0 down by halftime but the Rollers man fluffed two glorious chances towards the end of the opening half. Rollers exposed defender Ofentse Motlogelwa and Chiefs' technical bench was forced to introduce Elijah Phiriepa to stabilise things. The move seemed to pay dividends as Phiriepa got involved and within no time he rattled the crossbar in the 45th minute.
