Randburg U18s thump Wits in a cup encounter
Randburg will be looking to continue where they left off in the next round of the Championship Cup.
Randburg Football Club U18s hosted Wits Juniors in a thrilling Rand Central Championship League Cup game that left spectators craving for more action.
The host did their preparations to the last details as their game plan worked perfectly. Two early goals in the first half played a pivotal role in a 3–1 victory and a step closer to winning some silverware in the current season.
Wits showed early signs of hunger in the match, and they created big scoring chances, but the finishing let Njabulo Sibiya down. Randburg sacrificed their normal playing style to try and frustrate the visitors.
They pumped the balls forward behind the defence to their striker Cameron Greeves who was a thorn in the side of Wits defenders with his strength and speed. Wits failed to deal with the long balls, and Greeves capitalised on that with a well taken shot to give the home side a 1–0 lead.
Shortly after Bokgcibane-botsile Mangole made his presence felt with another goal from the long ball to give Randburg a comfortable 2–0 lead to halftime.
The visitors had a dream start in the second half as Takalani Ungani’s header left the goalkeeper helpless and restored comeback hopes. They started pushing the back and combining well in possession looking for an equaliser.
The home side remained disciplined at the back and caught the visitors with a counterattack Greeves was brought down in the box and the referee pointed in the spot for a penalty kick.
Prince Yanou Kalaba converted with easy to make it 3–1 and took Randburg to the next round of the competition.
Randburg coach Soso Nkosi explained that they were playing Wits for the third time this season and they knew how they would approach the game.
“They played long balls and never possession-based football, and we said we will do whatever they do and unfortunately for them, it worked for us. We played the ball on the side, and we scored with crosses. Our striker was always up, and they tried to play possession and we squeezed them with presses.”
He added that scoring the two goals in the first half was important as it unsettled the opponents.
“It was good for us to also relax and let them try and play catch up and they made things easier for us.”
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