Vilakazi came on in the second half of the match much to the delight of the Chiefs' faithful as fans rose to their feet as he substituted Nkosingiphile Ngcobo.

Vilakazi rose to prominence in December 2021 at the annual Philly’s Games before his introduction to the club’s reserve team structure a year later.

He has since set tongues wagging about his potential in the DStv Diski Challenge and anticipation for his debut reached fever-pitch when he scored for the Carling All-Stars in their win over Stellenbosch before the Africa Cup of Nations enforced break.

Johnson, who’s handed the likes of Bafana Bafana duo Kobamelo Kosidang and Gift Links their debut at the age of 15 and 17 respectively has now shed light on the diminutive talent who earned his senior bow in the Nedbank Cup tie against Milford.

Unfortunately, he was not able to show his real qualities in this match which I think would have came if we had scored a goal, then you would have seen how good he is at moving the ball but he did well for me," Johnson said.

As Vilakazi has added his name to a growing list of Amakhosi academy graduates who have made their senior team debuts in the past 18 months, following in the footsteps of Mduduzi Shabalala, Wandile Duba, and Samkelo Zwane, 'Obrigado' as he is affectionately called by the Chiefs fans will be aiming to push for a regular starting berth at Amakhosi for the remainder of the season.