LRC gives Stars a run for their money
The ‘drama queen’ act of the day came from LRC’s Malose Twala who dived inside the box in search of a penalty and earned himself a strong verbal warning from referee Lucky Mazibuko.
Love Reaches Community FC (LRC) gave table-topping United Stars a run for their money in one of the best Alexandra Northrand Local Football Association’s Promotional League matches this season.
Stars came out of this thrilling but hard-fought match with their unbeaten record still intact with a slender but laboured 2-1 victory. The match was played at the Totalsports Alex SafeHub grounds on February 24.
The River Park-based outfit has now amassed 29 points from 12 games, with only three matches to go before the start of the second and final round of the 16-team league.
LRC came to this match kitted in royal blue to signal a battle royal game for Stars. The signal was made clear early on as LRC’s Emani Qwabe got a yellow card after just 10 minutes of play for a rough tackle on Stars’ Njabulo Shabalala, who is the league’s top marksman with 16 goals to his credit in only 12 matches played.
Stars’ Thabo Mangonela failed to use a golden opportunity to put his side ahead in the 15th minute of play when he ballooned his strike over the crossbar while LRC’s Ethan Zwane followed that play and dribbled past a maze of defenders but failed to secure a payoff for his efforts.
Mbhazima Ngobeni of Stars had his powerful grass-cutter strike blocked by an astute LRC defence despite the word goal written all over it. Stars’ Thabo Mangonela had his chance too, but his power shot struck the upright and drifted out of play.
LRC keeper Nthiso Botsolo made a brilliant save from the hard-running Ngobeni which the goalminder parried over the crossbar for a corner. After all the near misses from both sides, it was LRC’s enterprising Zwane who registered his name and that of the team first on the scoreboard in the 30th minute of the game.
Zwane made a good run on the left wing and unleashed a powerful hot potato-type of shot which the keeper fumbled with before unintentionally pushing it over the line for a goal.
The LRC celebration was short-lived as Shabalala immediately replied with his top right corner strike to level matters in just two minutes after the opposition goal, and the two sides went into the halftime break level at 1-1.
LRC’s Qwabe, who was already in the referee’s books with a yellow card, got a verbal reprimand from referee Lucky Mazibuko for dangerous play on Stars’ Paul Masalesa. Stars’ Nhlanhla Makgopa had his goal-bound shot also parried over the crossbar for a corner.
It was not long before Liyanda ‘Lesedi’ Jaca hammered the final nail in the coffin of the LRC team to make it 2-1. Stars’ Masalesa earned himself an unnecessary yellow card for a knock on the keeper, Xolani Mlambo.
But the ‘drama queen’ act of the day came from LRC’s Malose Twala, who raced towards the goals with an opponent in hot pursuit but just dropped himself onto the ground inside the box in search of a penalty in the dying minutes of the game and was lucky to get away with a verbal warning from Mazibuko.
