Four in a row for Northerns

Benoni Northerns Football Club’s (BNFC) senior teams travelled to Corinthians, in Linksfield, on Saturday, August 9.

The first XI were coming off a three-game winning streak in the ELFA Super League Seniors Division One and were aiming to add to that at the Greek Club.

The game started off well for Northerns, who created a number of good chances, with the opposition goalkeeper making numerous good saves to keep the visitors out.

Northerns were unlucky to strike the upright, against the run of play.

Corinthians pounced on this and broke through the Northerns defenders to score the game’s first goal.

BNFC fought hard to find an equaliser and it finally came just before the first half ended, when Thabang “Junior” Tsoka finished well with his left foot.

The second half was a hard-fought battle, with Northerns pushing hard for the win, but Corinthians were dangerous on the break and the defence needed to be alert.

They eventually got the goal when the in-form Michael Edwards dribbled his way into the box from a short corner kick and put the ball across for Man of the Match Cameron McMillan to slot home.

Northerns survived waves of attacks from Corinthians to secure a 2-1 win.

Steve Shirley, the second team coach, who was standing in for Flavio Mariuzzi on Saturday, commented: “Going into this fixture we had a very thin squad, due to injuries and players not being available for the game.

“A lot of young players from the second team have stepped up to the mark and showed that they can perform at the next level.

“It was not an easy game and the team showed a lot of character to fight for the three points.”

He added that he and assistant coach Grant Wheeler were proud of the team’s performance.

n Shirley’s second team, however, conceded a late Corinthians equaliser to draw 2-2 in the game prior to the first team kick-off.