Goals by Fabio de Freitas and Daniel Dyson steered the Old Bens senior team to a 3-0 victory against Kempton Park FC in the Easterns Super League on March 12 at Currin Park.
Dyson opened the scoring in the first half while de Freitas put the game beyond Kempton’s reach with a brace in the second stanza.
The game began at a high tempo with Kempton showing intent early on. Their passes through the wide channels frustrated the Bens fullbacks in the opening minutes.
As soon as the game settled, Old Bens started to dominate play in the middle of the park. This dominance paid off in the 15th minute when Dyson opened the scoring with a cracker that rattled the roof of the net following a neat interplay in the Kempton penalty area.
Kempton responded immediately with a counter but its player was fouled inside the Bens’ box. The referee waved play on to leave the Kempton Park technical area seething.
The Kempton technical area grew frustrated with the referee and showed their discontent by heckling him. Following a brief discussion with the linesman, the referee then sent off the Kempton assistant coaches for dissent midway through the first half.
Much of the game was concentrated in the middle of the park with none of the keepers tested. The game went into the halftime break with Old Bens leading 1-0.
The second half began with the same energy. Old Bens almost doubled their lead but Dyson missed a clear-cut opportunity after a scramble inside the box.
A few moments later, de Freitas doubled the lead with a curler that stretched the Kempton keeper. That goal seemed to have settled matters but Old Bens were hungry for more as they kept on knocking.
De Freitas grabbed his second goal of the match to put the match firmly in Old Bens’ hands. He could have bagged his hat trick when Bens were awarded a penalty but he failed to capitalise when he missed the spot-kick.
At the end of the 90 minutes, it was Old Bens who walked away with the three points.
Coach Mike Lee told the paper he was pleased with his team’s performance.
“I was extremely happy with the energy and the speed we moved the ball. Everyone worked hard for 90 minutes and played with passion.
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“I am pleased that our backline hasn’t conceded a goal yet. We are sitting on six points. There is room for improvement but we are heading in the right direction,” Lee said.
The Old Bens reserved side was held 3-3 by the Kempton Park FC reserves.
Bens will travel to Brakpan to take on Brakpan Spurs on March 19.
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