Whatever else Benedict Vilakazi might be, he is a competitor — and it was this fiercely competitive instinct that enabled the diminutive midfielder to score the all-important 79th-minute goal that gave Premier Soccer League leaders Orlando Pirates a closely contested 1-0 victory over Moroka Swallows in the Ellis Park derby on Wednesday night.
The game appeared to be heading for a draw when Vilakazi catapulted himself towards a cross from Lebohang Mokoena and scythed a header into the corner of the net after beating such seasoned players as Swallows’ Nigerian international goalkeeper Greg Etafia and Namibian international defender Mohamed Ouseb to the ball.
Vilakazi, in the midst of a succession of personal crises in his life, once again demonstrated his fighting spirit and unwavering will to win.
Ironically, however, with a more competent referee than the out-of-his-depth Lwandile Mfiki, the pint-sized Vilakazi would not have been on the pitch at all at the time he scored after already having committed four bookable offences — for which the relatively inexperienced official had handed out only one yellow card.
A game that had been billed as potentially one of the highlights of the Premier Soccer League programme failed dismally to come up to expectations, with the players making as many unforced errors as the referee.
And players being players, they took advantage of Mfiki’s erratic decisions and proceeded to enact a plethora of ugly infringements.
There is little doubt a pitch that was soggy and slippery after heavy pre-match rain had a good deal to do with the declining standards, but professionals at this level should know better how to handle such conditions.
And, if truth be known, Vilakazi should have scored in the 37th minute when 5m off-side after the officials had incredulously failed to spot the infringement. But the gift opportunity hit the post and bounced clear.
Swallows fell well below the standard of recent performances against Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs, and badly missed suspended Senegalese target striker Mame Niang.
They also did themselves no favours by playing too defensively until Vilakazi scored with his scorcher. — Sapa