Old Bens stunned their city rivals Benoni Northerns after thrashing them 4-1 on the Manny Ferreirinho main field on June 29 in what must count as one of the most humiliating defeats in recent memory.
A first-half brace from Khetha Khumalo and two second-half strikes from Seth Green and talisman Spyros Avgoustis secured Old Bens three valuable points, ending their poor run in the Eastern Super League.
The visitors didn’t just punish their hosts, they played party-poopers on a day when Northerns continued their 50th-anniversary celebration and also honoured founder, Manny Ferreirinho, by renaming the football fields next to the clubhouse after him.
Surely it would have been a great gift to Ferreirinho to mark this occasion with a victory against their cross-suburb rival but Old Bens had plans of their own. After their 4-4 first-round belter at Currin Park, it wasn’t just the three league points at stake, but also the bragging rights until next season.
After a nervy start, both teams got into their rhythm and fluidity. They played a game of cat and mouse but every time either side launched an attack, the rear guard calmly dealt with any impending danger.
The visitors got off to a great start when Khumalo curled a sensational strike into the top right corner to put his team ahead. The winger received the ball inches outside the box, danced around his marker and after noticing the acres of space in front of him, he curled a belter that beat a fully stretched Cole Simpson to his right.
However, their lead lasted only seconds after a lapse in concentration from the Old Bens defence gifted Northerns an equaliser.
After the restart, Old Bens collected and played it from the back but the Northerns forwards pressed hard, leaving Bens skipper Chris Bailey with no option but to pass to his goalie. But the quick-thinking Luthando Talazo stood guard and pounced on Bailey’s tame pass to slot home the equaliser.
The home crowd came alive but the excitement soon died down when Khumalo headed in his second from a corner. Jayden Prinsloo delivered a looping ball that found the winger unmarked on the far post. With not much work to do, he calmly placed the ball across into the far post to make it 2-1.
After the break, it was the same story. Old Bens continued surging forward and were awarded a penalty but it was overturned and Khumalo shot wide while Prinsloo was saved from close range by Simpson.
Northerns coach Andrew Kelly injected some fresh legs early in the second stanza but nothing much changed as Green added his name to the scoresheet. Khumalo collected from Thabo Moeta and quickly spotted Green in the middle. The winger used his strength to hold off Fortune Mkhenene and beat Simpson with a low shot to his right.
Avgoustis completed the rout with an incredible curler after he was set up by Prinsloo. The playmaker intercepted S Mkhwanazi’s clearance, crossed to Augoustis and the midfielder moved inside before curling a belter into the top left corner to lead his team to a 4-1 victory.
Earlier, Kyle Streak and Ofentse Mawane’s goals handed the Northerns second team a 2-0 victory against the Old Bens second team.
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