Northerns won the first derby 4-1 (a cup match in April) and the second 3-2 (a league encounter at the end of May), but it was a different proposition all together for both teams on Saturday.
Bens, in particular, had won all three of their last three games in the league prior to the derby.
With both sides all square on points on the Super League table going into the clash, Benoni football lovers were hoping for a highly cut-throat affair between the local rivals.
The first half did not, however, quite match the expectations of the supporters, as both teams struggled to find rhythm in their passing.
A bumpy Currin Park pitch made life difficult when it came to passes on the ground.
It could be said that Old Bens were the better of the sides in terms of chance creation, but they were left kicking themselves when two excellent opportunities went astray.
The Northerns strike force of Brogan Shrimpton and Clayton King did not have much to work with for most of the first half, as the ball was held up in the midfield for long periods of time.
The Bens defence held firm until Shrimpton steered home the opening goal of the match on the stroke of half time, with a rare foray into the home side’s penalty box and a goalmouth scramble.
Following the break, Old Bens came hard at the Northerns team and their persistence paid off as the diminutive Lasego Mlangeni got his head on the ball after a well directed cross from the right, from Lesiba Modau, after some good interplay between himself and Jethson Cloete, to equal the score.
The game came alive following the Bens equaliser, as both teams made chances, but failed to put them away.
The match would end at 1-1, a result that places the home team above their rivals on goal difference.
Benoni Northerns’ coach Jannie van den Berg said he believed that the result was a fair reflection of the game, a sentiment shared by Raymond Cloete, coach of Old Bens.
Both teams will play their final ELFA Super League clashes of the season on Saturday, September 19.
Old Bens will travel to Linksfield to challenge Corinthians, while Northerns host Olympia.
- Meanwhile, in the reserve team derby played prior to the first team encounter, it was the Old Bens team who emerged as 3-1 victors over Northerns.
For a GALLERY of images from the match CLICK HERE.
