Dra keeps the pressure on log leaders Black Poison in the ANLFA Promotional League
ALEXANDRA -– Dra FC is keeping the pressure on ANLFA Promotional League log leaders Black Poison with only three matches to go after collecting maximum points from their Norwood Young Stars game.
Norwood Young Stars learnt it the hard way that playing good football without being clinical in front of goals does not win you matches.
This was after Stars succumbed to a 2–1 defeat at the hands of eight-man Dra FC in the Alexandra Northrand Local Football Association Promotional League game played at the Altrek Sports Complex in the East Bank section of Alexandra.
The match was filled with high drama as Stars strongly protested the late arrival of Dra and the inclusion on the team sheet of three players who were not part of the starting line-up and only arrived after more than 20 minutes of play.
A fuming Stars team owner and chairperson Venita Masisi vowed to take up the matter with the Local Football Association, saying rules were rules and were put in place to be adhered to by all and sundry. “I am not going to take this lying down,” she said.
On the pitch Stars were the better team as they constantly harassed the defence of Dra which stood resolute. Stars finally found the back of the net through the boot of Phemelo Mphahlele while their live wire Collens ‘Hluphile’ Selenia, who is nicknamed Hluphile for being a thorn in the flesh of defenders, with his telling runs on the right wing, fluffed an opportunity to increase his team’s lead. Selenia’s tame shot didn’t trouble keeper Nkululeko ‘Gwinya’ Duma.
Dra equalised through their evergreen midfielder-cum striker Thembinkosi Zwane in the dying minutes of the first half.
In the second half, Stars continued where they had left off but poor finishing let them down and Zwane took full advantage when he scored his brace for the 2–1 win.
Dra coach Mosala Mafikeng said he was happy to have collected full points in the ‘scrappy’ game to keep the pressure on log leaders Black Poison. There are only three games to go until the end of the season and the crowning of the champions who will be promoted to the SAB League next season.
Dra currently has 56 points from 23 games and is separated by a single point from the log leaders who have a game in hand. Asked whether he fancied his chances of promotion, Mafikeng said they were ‘very good’ and that they still had a date with the log leaders.
Stars coach Mxolisi Sandile Chonco blamed the bumpy pitch which he said did not allow them to play their normal game. “We tried our level best but we just couldn’t find the back of the net but we’ll hang in there,” he said.
Related article:
https://northeasterntribune.co.za/218503/local-football-club-seeks-training-ground/
