Black Leopards made a mockery of the obscure ”two team” policy of Mamelodi Sundowns coach Angel Cappa at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday night and gained a well-deserved 1-0 victory over a mauled Brazilians combination.
So out-of-touch was the makeshift Sundowns side that Leopards goalkeeper Guy Mutshi might have gone fishing and he would hardly have been missed, with the Brazilians barely compiling a single valid scoring opportunity throughout the 90 minutes.
The winning goal from James Mayinga in the 43rd minute was the product of only one of many mesmerising movements that left Sundowns’ defence chasing shadows — and Cappa will need to stop playing games with his inflated squad if he is not to court disaster.
Apart from resting top midfielders Ezrom Nyandoro and Godfrey Sapula, Sundowns basically fielded a completely different line-up from that which shaded Jomo Cosmos last week — and, not surprisingly, the team looked rusty and uncoordinated.
Leopards, in contrast, were both mean and meaningful and might easily have won by a more comprehensive margin.
Indeed, only a couple of breathtaking saves by Andre Arendse in Sundowns’ goal prevented Leopards from scoring, with the home team having a goal disallowed in the closing stages, as well as missing a gilt-edged opportunity with their opponent’s defence in disarray in the final five minutes.
Changes by Sundowns in the second half had no impact, with the die already cast as the Brazilians continued playing like ”fat cats” against these lethal Leopards.
Ajax beat Swallows
Ajax Cape Town, playing with 10 men for 51 minutes, deservedly beat Moroka Swallows 2-1 in a Castle Premier League game played at the Athlone Stadium on Wednesday night. The score was 1-1 at the interval.
The game started at a fast pace and both teams were guilty of robust play.
A poor display in goals by Greg Etafia saw the ball go to Seuntjie Motlhajwa, who scored, giving Ajax the lead in the seventh minute.
Swallows levelled the score in the 36th minute when Innocent Chikoya centred from the left and Henrico Botes stabbed the ball home.
Unfortunately, referee Thabo Nkosi had a poor game and allowed several dangerous tackles to go unpunished. However, in the 39th minute, he sent Franklyn Cale for an early shower.
Although down to 10 men, Ajax were doing most of the attacking in the second half. Mark McVeigh broke down the right and his 15m drive was well saved by a diving Moeneeb Josephs.
Ajax were unlucky in the 63rd minute when Mulekelayi Kanku’s lob was brilliantly tapped over the bar by the goalkeeper.
In the 73rd minute, Niang of Swallows kicked high over the bar from 6m out.
Ajax took the lead in the 86th minute when Brett Evans took a free kick from the right and it was deflected into his own goal by Chikoya.
In referee’s optional time, Nathan Paulse stabbed the ball past the goalkeeper, but the ball hit the body of Tsweu Mokoro, who was on the line to go out. — Sapa