A Seven-goal Thriller At Loftus And Three Points For The Brazilians

What a great display of entertaining football between the sides at Loftus Versfeld Stadium. The much-anticipated clash between the Brazilians and Usuthu showed why there was a lot of hype going into the game as it delivered a seven-goal thriller.

Masandawana went to this game without Denis Onyango and Sphelele Mkhulise who were part of the team when Mamelodi Sundowns were in action against Cape Town City.

The game started with both sides sizing each other up and no one willing to be on the back foot. AmaZulu needed only fourteen minutes to throw the first punch as Lehlohonolo Majoro pounced on a mistake made by stand-in captain Ricardo Nascimento and went on to chip the ball over Kennedy Mweene for the opener.

Masandawana needed only four minutes to draw one back as Themba Zwane finished off a great pass by Peter Shalulile to make the score one all. “Shikabala” was not finished as three minutes later he was on hand to score his second for the day. In the twenty-ninth minute “Mshishi” completed his hat-trick, which he only needed a total of eleven minutes to accomplish. The score going into half-time was 3-1 to the home side.

Usuthu were quick off the block in the second stanza as they were awarded a penalty after Nascimento was judged to have handled the ball. Luvuyo Memela stepped up to take the spot-kick and saw his initial shot saved by Kennedy Mweene and needed the rebound to score. Peter Shalulile restored the two-goal cushion in the fifty-fifth minute as he headed home a corner by Lyle Lakay.

The intensity of the game was being stretched as both teams were on each other’s backs. The visitors got one back from Khumalo as he headed the ball home after a corner was misjudged by Mweene and reduced the score deficit by one goal. Bafana Ba Style kept pushing and Kermit Erasmus saw his shot saved by Siya Mbatha after some great footwork in the box.

AmaZulu kept pushing for the equaliser that never came and Masandawana walked away with three points and four goals scored.

How we lined up:
Mweene, Morena (Lebusa 93’), Lakay, Nascimento, Madisha, Jali, Coetzee, Maboe (Kekana 83’), Erasmus (Makgalwa 79’), Zwane (Domingo ’83), Shalulile (Mudau 75’)

Subs:
Goss, Mudau, Lebusa, Maluleka, Kekana, Langerman, Domingo, Mkhuma, Makgalwa

8 Responses
  1. Dalom

    Well done boyz. AmaZulu really made us sweat for those three points, though we brought them back to the game twice. Well done to Mable as well, he really played well in his natural position.

  2. DOWNS4EVER

    The players should be treated equal for a team to progress,Mobbie made a single mistake against Celtic and he was relegated to the stands instead of been protected by the technical team,now Nascimento gave Amazulu two goals,i mean those were unforced arrears,his primary duty is not win the ball before he can start it at the back,how many times has he dispossessed the opponents?,when it comes to defending he is a free way,still remember what Maritzburg did to him last season,he is unable to cover up other defenders.We need to stop doing players favors at the expense of the team’s success, players should be selected on merit not on honorary,you just can’t introduce Kekana when the team is under such pressure,the poor gay can’t pass,hold on to the ball and can’t.He was in the game fro few minutes but made more back passes than any player on the pitch,we needed someone who control the tempo of the game not someone to ran all over the pitch.That game was perfect to put Goss in the post,the boy is the best keeper in the league,or is because you are afraid you won’t have any reason to drop him for your favorites,we need him and Bafana needs him too,cowards don’t succeed in soccer,only the brave ones do. Mr President once said he wants Downs to dominate in the Bafana,how can Lebusa play for national team and not on club level,we just lack one aggrassive player at the back.On positive note,Maboe, what a boy,fearless and hungry for success, you excel in each and every position you play,keep up the good job.The combination of zwane,Maboe.Shaulile and Romeo will cause havoc to the oppositions and win us the league with ease if we sort out our defense.

  3. Nkoyi

    Anele Ngcoca has passed away, and there is no news here for someone who served the team for all his heart and dedication. Please, the man life should be honored with dignity.

    1. Muzi Kunene

      Member We don’t have a webmaster at Downs you can’t tell me they don’t heard the news,its ignorance at its best like they normal do,if you want to hear Downs news visit other publications, today we’ve got a new fitness trainer but our website will not share us that story.
      Come afternoon when radio stations interview them about all this they will say we were waiting the confirmation from Anele’s family but on Twitter they wrote it or maybe they will be unavailable to comment like always especially on Marawa Sports show.Its a disgrace to a big team like that and lastly We don’t know whose players that are already gone to other teams except to hearing from those publications and I wonder what will be if our President moves to Caf leaving those bunch of people behind to run our team.

      1. jimmy

        I agree with you Muzi 100% on this issue ,the person trusted with this site is not just failing but a disgrace . I am afraid if the president can be away from the club all hell will break loose like South Africa under the ANC.

  4. Ayanda

    Congrats to the team are in order for the victory, however i agree with the members who say players must be selected on merit, i do not know how many times we have pointed out to the mistakes of Nascimento, but to no avail. Lebusa is far better than Nascmento any day in terms of defending , he is not a free way and has more pace than the latter. Maboe has always been an excellent player in the midfield, such that i did not understand why Mkhulise was playing before him in the middle, because the latter tends to tire in the second half especially on a high tempo game, besides Maboe is technically more good than the rest.The combination of Jali, Maboe, Zwane, Shalulile and Romeo is excellent , one problem is the defence in Sundowns, but you will see the coaches will see what we do not see, and continue fielding players that are prone to conceding very weak goals. Recardo Goss could do better in the absence of Onyango , I agree. Eish , about sad news, let me say RIP Anele you served us well Mfana!

  5. Soso

    Can you please give Goss a chance to play, he is a keeper if you don’t know. He was the best keeper at Wits last season . As a Sundowns supporter , I know Kennedy will always let in a goal per game . I was not shocked at all when he allo two goals to pass him. Please give Goss a chance to play Manqoba please.