The struggling Glamour Boys, with just two wins from six league games, have a tough away assignment against Marumo Gallants on Sunday evening.
Kaizer Chiefs could really do with Keagan Dolly and Khama Billiat picking up their games in the weeks and months ahead.
Neither Billiat nor Dolly have been playing particularly poorly, though the Bafana Bafana international was dropped to the bench for Chiefs' last match, the 0-0 draw against AmaZulu.
However, the former Mamelodi Sundowns pair, both Caf Champions League winners, have been far from their best and their stats so far this season are underwhelming.
A number of senior players having left the club, quite a few new signings have been made, new head coach Arthur Zwane is still finding his feet, and Chiefs are under pressure to end a seven-year trophy drought.
In such circumstances, big players, senior stars such as Khama Billiat (32) and Dolly, 29, become crucial in carrying the team through turbulent waters.
As attackers, they need to be scoring and creating goals.
The entire Amakhosi team this season has managed only five goals in seven matches, league and cup. And take away the 3-0 win over Maritzburg United and the record looks even worse.
Looking more closely at the two senior forwards in the team, former Ajax Cape Town teammates Dolly and Billiat have played a combined 14 matches so far (13 starts, plus Dolly’s appearance off the bench against Usuthu).
In that time, the pair of them contributed just one goal (Dolly) and one assist (Billiat).
It’s in contrast to last season’s return as the former Montpellier attacker netted eight goals and provided five assists in 28 league and cup games.
Billiat played 29 matches, registering eight goals and eight assists.
That makes for a total of 29 goal involvements between the two last season – meaning that on average, one of them would score or assist every game they played
When Dolly first joined Chiefs, his chemistry with the Zimbabwean international had made an immediate impact and had helped get the team buzzing.
With Leonardo Castro also in the mix, for a short while, the 'CBD' partnership which had been so successful with Sundowns, seemed to be flourishing.
But with Castro leaving the club and now Billiat and Dolly also not at their best, those days seem a long time ago.
Arthur Zwane could really do with a bit more from his two senior statesmen during what is a tough time to be in charge of a Chiefs side starved of success, but with the ambition to get back to the top.
– Goal
