Germiston’s ten-man squad thrashes Zwide
Though met by drama on and off the pitch, Germiston City Football Club made the best of their fortunes this past weekend.
Due to the unavailability of Huntersfield Stadium in Katlehong, the Zwide Football Club clash against Germiston City Football Club was moved to the Germiston City Sports Grounds.
Germiston has been enjoying a resurgence in their season and were upbeat about their match against Zwide on Saturday.
Their opponents had a different attitude after their positive start to the season was threatened after losing five games in a row.
Before the match even kicked off, Germiston felt aggrieved at some of the match official’s decisions.
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“Firstly the referee decided the socks, although blue, were not of the same colour.
“The tape holding up the socks also needed to be blue, and not the black or white, the players had used.
“Our players were asked to change.
“This caused the game to kick off 15 minutes late.
“The third official had still not arrived even for the delayed kick-off,” said Peter Oliver, chairperson of Germiston City Football Club.
Eventually, the Eastern Local Football Association (ELFA) Super League match got underway.
Both teams played tactical football and the game ebbed between the two goal areas.
A decision by the linesman in the 20th minute caused a flurry of verbal insults which the referee did not like and he saw fit to send-off Germiston’s Kabelo Mashebelo.
This put Germiston on the back foot and in the 26th minute, they succumbed to a goal by their opponents.
Although Germiston’s defence seemed in disarray, through teamwork they managed to hold the score to 0-1 at half-time.
Coach Sreten Pavlovic seemed happy with the way the team had recovered after Mashebelo’s send-off as he kept the same 10 players on the field for the second half.
Germiston came out the stronger opponent of the two sides in the second half, although being a player down.
Thabiso Nkosi made a good run down the left wing and crossed a low hard ball into the Zwide area, which was met by star player Mduduzi Mkantshwa who made no mistake in finding the back of the Zwide net.
Germiston applied pressure against their opponents, Zwide and seemed to have an extra player on the field rather than being a player down.
Nkosi, who had a solid game, drew a penalty in the 60th minute when he was brought down in the penalty area.
Takudswa Jack somehow smuggled the ball into the net, allowing the ten-man Germiston team their first lead in the game.
Germiston’s defenders reassembled and held a tight defence for the remainder of the match.
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Tactical manoeuvering by Pavlovic by bringing on three substitutes in the last ten minutes ensured the 2-1 win for Germiston.
The reserve teams drew their match 0-0.
Germiston will host Kempton Park Football Club in their next Super League fixture, at home, on Saturday at 3.30pm.
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