Happy Boys may still win the league
Giyani Happy Boys narrowly escaped a draw against United Artists FC at Xikukwani Stadium on Saturday.
The match started difficult for the Happy Boys as they struggled to get the visiting team off their shoulders for most of the first half. In the first few minutes, there were a few attempted shots at the goalkeeper by the visiting team that could have paralysed the Happy Boys had they converted into goals. The Happy Boys goalkeeper did an outstanding job in keeping the shots off the net. Although they seem to struggle in the first half, the Happy Boys came back in the second half energised, probably after a pep talk from their coach.
It set them on course to winning the match despite initially missing a penalty shot which could have put them in the lead early. Fortunately for them, they made up for it by scoring the winning goal just minutes before the final whistle. It should be noted that United Artists is not a weak side, they were third on the log in the ABC Motsepe Stream-A league and had 19 points out of 14 games before the Saturday match. With only two games left before they exhaust their league matches, they knew there was no way they could change the status of their position on the log even if they win all the remaining matches.
Also read: Local soccer teams live to fight another day
That made them approach the match with a ‘we have nothing to lose’ attitude. This played out to their advantage because they were able to move forward, pushing the Happy Boys back without fear of leaving their backline undefended. Their strategy almost got them through; however, the referee did not show them any favours. There were a few moves that could have secured them a goal or two, but the referee ruled them out as fault moves. A handball could have been a penalty for the United Artists, but the referee motioned ‘play-on’ disregarding the protests from the visitors’ bench and spectators.
The Happy Boys, on the other hand, still had a small chance of catching up with Mpheni Home Defenders who still had four games left in the league at the time of their match. Currently, Defenders have 36 points out of 13 games, and they are left with three games to go. Meanwhile, the Happy Boys have 33 points out of 14 games, with only two matches in hand. This means that for the Happy Boys to finish first, Defenders has to lose all of its remaining three games, while the Happy Boys has to win all of their matches.
