Black Poison and Rangers share of the spoils a better result for the Alex derby

Controversial Alex derby match of the Johannesburg Men's Regional League between Rangers and Black Poison ends with a 2-2 share of the spoils despite heated exchanges from officials of both sides just before kick-off over the venue and kick-off times move.

Black Poison keeper Wandile Dhlamini runs towards the Alex News camera to celebrate his first goal against his Rangers counterpart Nkosinathi 'Pumba' Malibe. Photo: Sipho Siso

A share of the spoils was a fair result in a controversial Alex derby match between Rangers and Black Poison.

The Johannesburg Men’s Regional League game was played in the darkness of load-shedding at the Alex SafeHub on February 22.
The derby which ended in a 2–2 draw was originally scheduled to be played at the Alexandra Stadium at 16:00 but due to the field lines not being marked because of a lack of paint and non-functional floodlights, it had to be moved to Alex SafeHub to start at 17:00.

Black Poison’s left-winger Otetse Thema plays his tricks on Karabo Moiloa of Rangers. Photo: Sipho Siso

The SafeHub had other football activities and the game’s kick-off time had to be moved to 17:30 with the result that three-quarters of the 90 minutes had to be played in darkness due to load-shedding.
This infuriated Black Poison as the away team and chairperson Eric Ndaba and coach Eric Paul said they were never consulted on the change of venue and kick-off times which had changed three times. This they claimed flouted the rules of the game.

Rangers official Mafika Morajane, a former long-standing secretary general of the Alex Northrand LFA, claimed all the protocols of the game had been observed to the letter.
When the game finally kicked off, Poison was awarded a penalty when one of their forwards was fouled inside the box and goalminder Wandile Dhlamini put up his hand to take the spot kick and made no mistake in rattling the back of the net.

Black Poison keeper Wandile Dhlamini runs towards the Alex News camera to celebrate his first goal against his Rangers counterpart Nkosinathi ‘Pumba’ Malibe. Photo: Sipho Siso

That joy for Poison was short-lived as Rangers’ Brian Siavhe quickly levelled matters with a strike that bamboozled Dhlamini. Poison then put up a brave fight as they sought to restore the status quo of their lead.
However, this was thrice denied by an alert and stocky Rangers keeper Nkosinathi Malibe, nicknamed ‘Pumba’, who used both his hands and feet while sprawled on the ground to deny the away team scoring.

Wandile Dhlamini’s spot kick rattles the back of the net while Rangers keeper Nkosinathi ‘Pumba’ Malibe remains sprawled on the ground. Photo: Sipho Siso

Rangers substituted a somewhat rusty Weighty Maluleke for the fresh legs of Siphesihle Majozi who made an immediate impact on the game, spraying telling passes and making dangerous runs into the opposition goalmouth.
Poison’s Sibusiso Mntambo missed a glorious opportunity to put his side in the lead with a header from a corner that was ballooned over the crossbar and both sides settled for 1–1 as they took the halftime break.

Rangers keeper Nkosinathi ‘Pumba’ Malibe dusts himself off to pick the ball up from the back of the net. Photo: Sipho Siso

In the opening of the second stanza, Rangers’ Majozi punched the air in disbelief at a glorious missed opportunity to put his side ahead.
Majozi’s teammate Refilwe Siko could not keep his header down and it went too high over the crossbar but that failed attempt was quickly redeemed by Siavhe when he banged in his brace to make it 2–1 with only 15 minutes of the 90 left.
However, Poison’s persistence to get an equaliser paid off when they were awarded yet another penalty, and the enthusiastic Dhlamini got his brace with the match ending 2–2.

Related Article:

Sandton community partners to uplift Alex Black Poison Football Club