Mamelodi Sundowns’ Diski Team have completed a league double over the Orlando Pirates Reserves after defeating them in a 1-0 fest on Saturday afternoon at a fully-packed Isak Steyl Stadium.
The encounter kicked off on a strong note, seeing Kutlwano Letlhaku setting his intentions right from the get-go, but his effort was blocked. Pirates were quick with the retaliation, but also suffered the same fate when their first big chance was blocked. End-to-end football was seen as both sides looked to find an early breakthrough.
Masandawana were the dominant side in their hosts’ backyard, as they latched onto the ball and forced their Pirates counterparts into playing defensive football. While they were dominant, they were wasting big chances that could have seen them scoring goals that would have left the stadium in awe. Chuene Moabelo had a good opportunity to score after receiving a long ball from Malibongwe Khoza. He managed to make a run that left him unattended and struck a shot that was too strong to find the target.
Two big chances after the hour mark came from Letlhaku and Onele Rulwana, but were not fruitful. Letlhaku had a good chance to find the back of the net after dribbling his way past the defenders, but the goalkeeper put his body on the line to ensure the ball didn’t go past him. Rulwana’s chance to score came, but he was indecisive, so he handed the ball to Letlhaku, whose shot was blocked. Rulwanafound the rebound and fired a shot that was also blocked.
To close the first half proceedings, the hosts had an opportunity to score after they were awarded a free-kick. The setpiece came about after Thato Sibiya conceded a foul on the edge of the box. The free-kick was smacked away by Downs’ goalkeeper, Nqobani Biyela, and Akhanyile Norawana finished the job by clearing the ball out of the danger zone. The two sides went into the break goalless.
When the restart finally came, Rulwana was ready to pick up where he left off and hopefully put his name on the scoresheet. While he managed to go past the defenders through his dribbling spells, his shot went slightly over the bar.
Oarabile Booysen also came close to rattling the nets but got fouled inside the box, prompting the referee to point to the spot. Taken by Gomolemo Kekana, the penalty kick was blocked by the goalie, keeping the score to remain unchanged.
In the 70th minute, just after being introduced, Sipho Ngqakabana scored the only goal of the match. The ball came from Letlhaku, who almost lost possession but managed to save the ball near the side of the net on the right. He managed to pass the ball to Ngqakabana, who had positioned himself in front of the goal. He took no chances and fired the ball into the net to make it 0-1.
In the final stages of the match, the Buccaneers almost levelled matters, but Biyelawas was on high alert and smacked the ball away. Both sides continued fighting to find the back of the net, but more goals were not scored, making the young Brazilians the victorious side.
How we lined up: Biyela, Norawana, Khoza, Mampane ©, Sibiya, Kekana, Nkosi, Moabelo, Rulwana, Booysen, Letlhaku.
Subs: Shabangu, Seedat, Mokoena, Mokoele, Ngqakabana.
