OWN CORRESPONDENT, Pretoria | Sunday 8.30PM.
AFTER being a goal up in the very first minute, Hellenic lost 2-3 to Sundown in their first-leg Rothmans Cup clash in Pretoria on Sunday.
The quick goal came when midfielder Bradley August slammed a piledriver into the crossbar, which bounced off into the path of striker Roger Theunissen, who knocked home the rebound.
Sundowns immediately went on the attack, and only brilliant goalkeeping by Hellenic goalie Emile Barron prevented two quick goals by Raphael Chukwu and Daniel Mudau within the first 15 minutes.
But in the 34th minute Chukwa fired a free kick that had the Hellenic goalie diving the wrong way. And in the 60th minute, moments after Barron had saved a shot from midfielder Charles Mothlohi, Chukwu moved in to head home a second goal and put Sundowns in the lead.
Twelve minutes later, Hellenic were back in the game, when defender Shaheem Bobbs moved right upfield to take advantage of a gap in the Sundowns defence. But Hellenic’s joy lasted a mere five minutes before Mothlohi, dribbling his way through the Hellenic defence, drew Barron out from his line and fired past him to score the winning goal.
But there was a sour side to the Sundowns victory — the club has lodged an official complaint against referee Mark Lindon, who denied them two penalties after Hellenic defenders handballed inside the penalty area.
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