Baroka came to play and went on the attack in the early minutes but the Amakhosi defence were having none of it and cleared any purported danger.
Robin Ngalande, who was unfortunate not to score against the Gold and Black in their last meeting, managed to open space on the edge of the box before firing at Itumeleng Khune, who held firmly.
The Glamour Boys managed to come good soon thereafter and it was Ryan Moon who asked questions of Ayanda Dlamini with a header that the goalkeeper managed to deal with rather easily.
The game was opening up, bringing an array of quick pace attacking dynamics at either end but the final product in the final third lacked immensely.
Gift Motupa, who has a knack for goals, looked to catch Khune off his guard with a chip but it failed to find the target.
At the opposite end, Dlamini pulled off a major save to deny Ramahlwe Mphahlele from finding the net, with a corner being the end result.
Nine minutes to the break, Moon’s curling drive was unable to beat Dlamini as it rattled the post, with Hendrick Ekstein failing to capitalise on the rebound.
The all-important goal came after Erick Mathoho rose highest to connect with Siphiwe Tshabalala’s corner for a cool header a minute later.
On the stroke of half-time, Leonard Castro earned a penalty after being brought down but Moon failed to consolidate the lead into the break with a horrendous miss over the bar from 12 yards.
The second half continued from where the first half ended, with the home side producing a few half-chances through Castro and Ekstein.
Baroka made their first change off the bench, bringing on Rhulani Sidumo to inject more verve in their attacking play.
For a moment, it looked to have paid dividends after a spate of attacks saw Richard Matloga among others going close to the leveler but his effort came off the upright.
That was followed up with efforts from Ngalande and Mduduzi Mdantsane later on, but they found Khune alert to the danger.
Zimbabwean Talent Chawapihwa whipped in a delightful cross which Matloga connected with but failed to utilise to good effect.
Chiefs, however, managed to see off the late charge from the Limpopo outfit to advance to the last four.