Sabatha Ndletyana’s goal earned Randburg FC U19 three points against School of Excellence.
The two giants put up a wonderful display for supporters at Randburg Sports Complex during their Gauteng Development League (GDL) encounter.
The home team did their homework and was ready for whatever School of Excellence threw at them. The high pressure assisted in closing down spaces faster and preventing their opponents from playing their famous Tiki-taka football style.
The game’s only goal came in the first half, when Randburg broke and their strikers, Daniel Biaya and Ndletyana, combined superbly to give the home side a 1–0 lead.
Not many chances were created in the first half with both teams showing resilience and great defence discipline.
Early in the second half, the visitors started to gain confidence and were able to combine on the hosts’ final third but lack finishing – while Randburg relied on speed in front and Biaya strength to hold the ball. He had few chances to increase their lead but his finishing let him down.
School of Excellence came close in the dying minutes –Lesedi Monnakhotla’s well-taken freekick beat the keeper and hit the cross bar.
Randburg FC coach Paul Habib praised the School of Excellence and said they are the best development team in the country.
“Getting good results and a clean sheet against them you know that you are doing something right. For me, I always prepare the most when we are playing against this team. They are a great organisation.
“The whole week we have been practising our game plan because they are so good; if you try to match them they will punish you with 4,5,6 goals. We let them have the ball and we wait for the break to use our power and speed upfront and it worked for us.
School of Excellence coach Masimanyane Xali praised the performance of his boys and explained that they had lacked finishing in front of the goal posts.
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