Birds’ smash-and-grab fails

The ‘Beautiful Birds of Alexandra have nobody but themselves to blame for failing to convert a last-minute strike that would have gone down as an incredible smash-and-grab victory.
Bluebirds Ladies had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home against a Pretoria outfit known as Mathaithai Ladies at the Alexandra Stadium on May 7. The ball was struck by a Birds player inside the box as a pass to a colleague who decided to jump it as a dummy instead of finishing.

She was hoping that her other colleague would be in a better position to finish it off. Instead, the ball landed in the feet of an opponent who made a hasty clearance and Mathaithai survived by the skin of their teeth, which was immediately followed by the referee’s blow of the whistle for full time.
The first half saw the Birds taking a little of a backseat in the game which allowed Mathaithai the opportunity to press hard to finally unlock the Birds’ defence in the 30th minute of play for a goal through the boot of Bophelo Mmatli.

Before the break, Mathaithai’s Kgomotso Magagane thought she had doubled her team’s lead through a volley of a strike that rattled the back of the net, only to be ruled offside by the assistant referee.
The two sides took the “oranges break” with the visitors leading by a solitary strike but the Birds returned for the second stanza – a sharper and rejuvenated side full of purpose.
This allowed the Beautiful Birds to grab an equaliser in just a little under 10 minutes of resumption play through a beautiful strike by Dimakatso Mashinini. The Birds continued to apply the pressure on the visitors in search of a second goal that was never to be.

Mathaithai’s substitute Fikile Makhanye also rattled the back of the net, and like her colleague Magagane, she was ruled offside and her strike never counted.
Asked for what he said to the girls during the half-time break, Birds coach Buti Phiri said he had urged them to believe in themselves and take the game to the visitors and that almost yielded victory.
“We have the youngest side in the league but I am confident once they jell, they will be a force to reckon with.”

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