Moroka Swallows beat a determined Free State Stars 1-0 in their hard-fought Castle Premier Soccer League (PSL) game at the Germiston Stadium on Tuesday afternoon in front of a poor midweek crowd, after leading 1-0 at the break.
Swallows striker Dennis Lota capitalised on a mistake made by Stars goalkeeper Kennedy Miveene in the 18th minute, putting more pressure on the Stars drivers who were also trying to score an early goal by any means.
Stars came back strongly in the second half as they tried to equalise, but they were denied any chance by the determined Swallows brick wall manned by Mohammed Auseb and Innocent Chikoya.
On several occasions, Stars knocked at the Swallows goal mouth but failed to penetrate the Birds’ defence.
Hoping for a lucky goal, the Stars coach, Roy Barretto, made some changes, introducing Mohau Mokopanelo for the out-of-form Teboho Tsiu in the 55th minute. Later, he introduced another midfielder, Patrick Malokase, for James Mokoena in the 68th minute, but the changes failed to bring about a goal.
As a result of this win, Swallows move from 11th to third position on the PSL log, with six points from four games. Free State Stars have yet to win a match since coming back to the PSL and remain in 12th position, with three points from four games. — Sapa