Emmanuel Adebayor failed to inspire Man City as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Kaizer Chiefs.
Adebayor fails to make an impact on first start
New signing Emmanuel Adebayor failed to inspire Manchester City as they slumped to a 1-0 pre-season defeat to Kaizer Chiefs in front of more than 30,000 spectators in Pretoria.
In the end it was Jeffrey Ntuka's effort minutes before half-time that proved the difference between the two sides as Mark Hughes' City ended their tour of South Africa on a low note.
Former Arsenal striker Adebayor was handed a first start by Hughes, while another new-boy Gareth Barry also played alongside the likes of Shay Given, Nigel de Jong, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Craig Bellamy.
Barry had the first real chance for his side, but his 18-yard shot just short of the half-hour mark was straight at the Chiefs goalkeeper.
City then made a change shortly before the break, replacing Richard Dunne with Pablo Zabaleta as the City captain aggravated a knee injury.
But City went behind in the 41st minute when a George Lebese corner caused panic in the penalty area and Ntuka drove the ball home from close-range to hand his side the half-time lead, albeit with a suspicion of handball in his control.
Adebayor's timely run 10 minutes after the restart almost paid dividends, but, after seeing his initial cross-goal pass come back into his path, the Togo striker blazed over when he should have hit the target.
Substitute Vladimir Weiss almost helped City snatch a late goal when his mazy run down the right saw him feed the ball to fellow replacement Robinho, who somehow dragged his shot wide as the game ended disappointingly for the visitors.
