The whole team shone in their respective play and each man on the field could have been awarded the man of the match. A well deserved win ahead of the break for the MTN8. We return to the field on 3 September as we face Chippa United at home. We shared the spoils in our DStv Premiership clash against Marumo Gallants at Peter Mokaba Stadium this afternoon. The final score after the full 90 minutes being 1-1.
We went to the dressing 1:0. We started the second half well but the opponent kept piling pressure and we lost a bit of confidence. As they were to make a double sub we conceded a goal through the Centre when we didn’t press the ball in the Centre. The score was 1:1. The opponent made their changes and opted for three man defence. We were under pressure for the better part of the second half but we resisted well. The match got even more physical as both teams were looking to break away and win. Our mental strength showed when we forced the opponent to concede a free kick. Phiri line up the free kick, took a shot, the ball rebounded from the keeper and Makhubela made it 2:1 right at the end.
In the early minutes we had Onyango under pressure and just seconds after forcing a save out of him, Dlamini struck a grass cutter and found the back of the net to give us the lead. A late push from Mamelodi Sundowns in the half to try and equalise was an indication of what was to come for us in the second 45. The second half of the game saw some hard defending from the side.
After losing the first leg game to Leopards, we will be looking for redemption while aiming at bolstering our position on the log. Black Leopards, looking to complete a double on home ground will be a challange, and one that we will be expecting. Adding to this is the fact that they are fighting for every point they can at present. The game will not be televised. We will however be keeping you up to date on the progression over our social media channels, so follow us on your favourite platform. We were held to a goalless draw tonight at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium against Baroka FC. The game was an uneventful one and we did not create the number of scoring opportunities we wanted to. Baroka came to the stadium with a clear plan to unsettle our normal play and this was evident in how they closed down our attack. The second half was not as disciplined as the first.
A very tough match away to an opponent, with a good squad but who’s been struggling to get results. This match was played after we lost to MSFC in the semifinals of the Telkom Cup. The level of our moral was at our lowest but we quickly needed to restore it. We had a fairly balanced match with far and few chances. We struggled to find our playing rhythm. We lost too many balls in possession. We couldn’t dominate the match as we used to. Each time we fail to hit our rhythm of play, it affects our confidence.
Lamola lost his balance and was not able to get his foot to the ball. With the visitors trying to establish rhythm, Mngwengwe’s men were able to remain quick and dangerous on the counter. Still, we allowed Masandawana chances and they used their possession advantage to have shots at goal. Silva was allowed some space in the 30th minute, but found the side netting. The pressure paid off for them in the 43rd minute as Maboe, with a run against play, took a low shot, beating Gumede and giving the visitors the lead just minutes before the break. The second half saw us defending more than we would have liked. Mzava and Mngwengwe had work to do at the back and were assisted well by Sibisi and Lunga.
Mutizwa was also brought off the bench to replace Sibeko. He made an impact on the field which was heightened once Lamola joined him. The two made quick impact and Lamola played a fantastic assist in Mutizwa’s first goal. Bloemfontein Celtic then equalised 12 minutes later and threated to force the game into extra time with just 9 minutes of official time left.
Coming back onto the field in the second half, we had a flurry of play that saw us have some better opportunities to score. Sibiya did well on the field, playing the ball up and linking well with Lunga to create opportunities. We could just not find the mark and get an equaliser. Sirino then added pressure on us. He set up a number of plays for Mamelodi Sundowns and put us on the back foot in the last third. In the 70th minute, Sirino came at us on the near side, put a cross in that went across the face of the goal where Arendse made a diving header shot on the low ball.
It had limited affect for us as we failed to use the change of pace to our advantage. A solid performance from our defence tonight, and good execution of Coach Larsen’s game plan. But we just failed to convert the chances again to secure full points from the encounter. We return to Durban and will prepare for our weekend game at home against Black Leopards on Sunday at 15h30. Tomorrow night we return to the field as we take on Orlando Pirates at Orlando Stadium.
They will be wanting to save some face in the KZN Derby and will be eager to walk away with both bragging rights and the knowledge of slowing our road to the semi’s. Entry to the Festival is free, but you do require a ticket to enter the stadium. These can be collected from the Mpumalanga Stadium today and Friday from 1pm.
Credit must go to each and every player who took to the pitch and gave 100% in the 4-0 win. Nduduzo Sibiya, the DStv Premiership man of the match netted twice with Pule Mmodi and Nqubeko Dlamini finishing off the scoring. All in all we dominated most of the play this afternoon, working well in pushing up and putting the visitors defense under pressure on the hunt to score. We received our first rewards in the 23th minute as Sibiya was taken down in the box and then converted from the mark to open our account for the afternoon.
The team tried playing offensively and also on the front foot but we made mistakes at the back and got punished for it. We allowed Vilakazi to open the scoring for the home side in the 40th minute. The persistance of the play from Sundowns and their domination of ball posession in the first half allowed them to get behind the defence, create a gap, and give Vilakazi a chance that he made no mistake on.
ᐉ Mamelodi Sundowns vs Moroka Swallows Live Stream, Tip
Defence proved to be a final hurdle that neither team could get past and although there were chances for both us and AmaZulu to score it would just not be. After being forced to replace Matloga at half time with Mutizwa, coach Komphela then brought on both Lamola and Jooste, hoping to enhance our striking abilities. AmaZulu looked to adopt a similar approach in the game, bringing Nomvete onto the attack, but the change did not pay off for them either.
Mamelodi Sundowns vs Moroka Swallows live stream, score
Mamelodi Sundowns vs Stellenbosch: Kick-off, TV channel
You can catch it live on SuperSport 211 or follow us on our social media platforms for play-by-play posts. A very difficult away match against Celtic who’ve been on a good run of form. The match was further complicated by the fact that both teams had a similar approach and played the same system but Celtic were more used to it than us. Such conditions made the match even more difficult to break down and win. We conceded right at the end of first half which is a critical phase of the match but we never dropped our heads.
This caught us off guard and with just 15 minutes to go conceded an own goal. This gave Marumo Gallants some encouragement and they could see a draw on the cards. They fought hard to turn the game over but were just not able to. In the first minute of additional time, Khumalo was then rewarded with his first goal of the season and in scoring, secured the win at home for us. We have a break until the 20th of October when we return to Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium to take on Mamelodi Sundowns. We will be looking to pick up some points at home tomorrow afternoon as we host Marumo Gallants at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium.
MTN8 Final Starting XI: Bidvest Wits v Mamelodi Sundowns 01
Mamelodi Sundowns vs Moroka Swallows FC - Tribuna.com
Mamelodi Sundowns vs Moroka Swallows Live - ScoreBat
