Although the soccer tournament scheduled for last Saturday was cancelled as many teams did not show up, the resulting friendly provided some excellent talking points.
Rivals and both respective giants on the field, Al-Ahly and Stella clashed during the friendly.
The game resulted in an excellent showing of leadership, skill and determination.
Both teams came into the game on the back of another friendly, and the game really tested the players’ stamina.
The first half was mostly a mid-field game, with both teams fighting for possession of the ball, but neither managing to break the deadlock.
After 60 minutes into the game, one of Al-Ahly’s key defenders, Haniff, had to be removed from the field due to an injury. Stella’s midfield maestro, Pat, a player who is considered to be one of the club’s legends, capitalised on the one-man advantage and struck home the first goal for his side.
The reply from Al-Ahly came almost immediately when a penalty was awarded for a handball in the box and key player for Al-Ahly, Rajah, calmly made his mark on the spot.
Following the fashion of the first half, the game continued to be a constant fight for possession with neither team managing to really create proper chances.
The game flowed into extra time, but many players did not, as fatigue took its toll. Stella players suffered with mistakes in the back, while the Al-Ahly passes were misdirected and lacked the purpose seen previously.
During the last minutes of extra time, Shariff beat two defenders and Stella keepers nailed the coffin shut on the game.
This goal almost broke Stella, and had Al-Ahly’s final attacks carried more purpose; the team could’ve possibly put in one more.
Some of the finer moments of the game proved:
Captain of Stella, Mbogane, made his presence known throughout the game as he rallied his team around him and conducted plays with ease.
Coupling his strengths with the likes of central attacking midfielder, Toffee and Pat, Stella has the ability to hold its own and keep position against most teams.
Similarly, Al-Ahly’s strikers, Rajah and Sharrif have the ability to give any defence a tough time, as they split defences with quick one-two passes.
Sharriff has the natural ability to find spaces behind defences, but seems to be lacking in the first-touch department.
Both teams have some excellent defenders, but men who really stood out during the match were Themba of Al-Ahly and Thulani of Stella.
Although he made some silly mistakes, Themba proved to be a real rock in defence for his side, whereas Thulani had the pace and stamina to outpace many strikers and keep on going as he pushed the ball up-field, opting to help his team in attack as well.
Al-Ahly goalkeeper, Joe, managed to pull of some excellent saves during the contest, and seemed to be a valuable player to have between the sticks.
Stella Player-Coach, Behki Mpanza said the side was concentrating on recruiting young talent, and was aiming for a top of the table finish.
His counter-part in the Al-Ahly side, Faheem Paruk, said, “We’ve just won the court league and we will be aiming for top honours in this league as well. The team is really coming together well, and the form has been consistent, but we want to be even better than this.”
