Old Bens beat Northerns in Super League encounter

There were huge applauses for former Benoni Northerns Football Club (BNFC) player Sipho Pooe from a section of the Old Bens fans for the striker’s starring role in their 1-0 derby win in the Eastern Super League on Saturday (May 6).

Pooe, now with Old Bens, played a crucial role in Keletso Mathathe’s goal that landed his club a crucial victory in the league.

After receiving the ball on the right, Pooe crossed to Mathathe on the far post to score with a header to earn his club the bragging rights.

“The game was okay. We started off shaky but we eventually got everything right. It was a 50/50 game. They had their chances and we had ours. It was a good game overall,” Pooe said.

The marksman declined to be drawn into the importance of the rivalry between the two clubs but said it was good beat Northerns.

“They are not our enemy. It’s just two clubs from the same location,” he said.

Old Bens coach, Mike Lee, said he was proud of the “heart and fight” showed by his players.

“The derby is always a big one. A lot of emotion and passion going into these games. I’m extremely happy to beat them at home. We haven’t done that for the last few years.

“We were rock solid at the back and missed lots of opportunities. But it was a fierce contest and I’m very proud of the heart and fight we showed.”

The game started tightly but came to life when Old Bens’ Jayden Jordan almost opened the scoring with a shot that the keeper pushed wide for a corner.

The visitors continued to dominate and Jordan missed another chance with a shot that went wide of the goal.

On the other end, Northerns’ Liam Jordaan headed a Calvin Ntsieng corner wide and on the stroke of half-time, the hosts were behind after Mathathe scored for Old Bens.

Set-up by Pooe, who crossed from right, the winger rose the highest to head in on the far post, giving his team the lead at half-time.

The second half began with the same tempo but had no goals despite the visitors seeing much of the ball and having the most opportunities.

“It was not a good day. We got caught on the back post, which is a weakness for most teams. We came up with a game plan. Unfortunately, Old Bens disrupted it and through that, they were the better team,” said Northerns coach Andrew Kelly.

Kelly added he was proud of how his keeper and captain, Cole Simpson played on the day.

“It’s always difficult with a goalkeeper because goalkeepers are not allowed to make mistakes. Our keeper played very well today. I’m proud of him and it makes a big difference to have him,” Kelly said.

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