Old Parks secures a narrow victory over Varsity College
Old Parks secured a narrow 2–1 victory in their league game against Varsity College.
Kaylie Neethling’ brace rescued Old Parks ladies in an action-packed three-goal thriller against Varsity College.
Old Parks came from behind to claim a tough 2–1 victory in the Rand Central Local Football Association (RCLFA) Ladies’ Premier League encounter.
Both teams started the match on a high gear matching each other’s energy and aggressiveness. Varsity began pushing Old Parks ladies back in their half and creating one-on-one situations. The home team goalkeeper Kristina Sheppard made good saves to keep her side in the game. The home side’s defence struggled to clear the ball in their box and Nompucuko Sodondi found the back of the net and gave Varsity a 1–0 lead.
The goal woke a sleeping giant. Old Parks began to take control of the game in the midfield. They kept position and combined well going forward. Kelly Allamby caused all sorts of problems for Varsity’s defence, putting her skills and speed to good use.
The high pressure from the hosts forced the visitors to make mistakes and Neethling’s long-range shot beat Lesedi Seema to level the scoreline (1–1). Old Parks did not take the pressure off the pedals as they continued to throw everything at Varsity. A few minutes later, Neethling once again haunted the visitors with a well-taken freekick to give her side a 2–1 lead in a stroke of half-time.
Old Parks brought on Taylor Fritz in the second half, looking to apply more pressure going forward. They created enough chances to wrap up the game, but they were not clinical in front of the goalposts. Varsity College found their way back into the game, dominating with position, but could not break the Old Parks’ defence.
Varsity coach Sammy Thage explained that they gave away the game with the mistakes they had made that led to goals.
“All the goals they scored were our mistakes and we will work on that and learn. They are a good team, but we dominated the game; we were just not clinical in front of the goalpost. We will improve and in the second round we will show them flames.”
The home side was hanging by a thread towards the final whistle but fought hard to secure all three points and a move up the league table.
Old Parks coach Colin Fritz admitted that it was a tough game, but they stuck to their game plan
“They are very tough to play against but we tried to stick to our plans, and we are proud of the players. They held composure and remained disciplined and focused. This win, more than anything, brings back the confidence in the girls and is a step in the right direction.”
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