Both legs of the Alex derby of the SAB League go to Malandela Mighty Heroes

Malandela Mighty Heroes emerged victorious in the Alex derby of the SAB League after beating arch-rivals Black Poison 2–1 in a hotly contested match at the Alexandra Stadium.

This is the second time this season that Malandela, who are famously referred to as the Kaizer Chiefs of Alex, have bagged the derby. The ‘AmaKhosi’ of Alexandra collected maximum points in the first round fixture of this derby in November last year after defeating Poison by the same scoreline.

Malandela’s Tshiamo Moraka opened the scoring when he rattled the back of the net with a powerful shot in the 25th minute to put his side in the driving seat of the derby.

Poison could have been the ones who could have opened the scoring had Sifundo Mthembu not fluffed his chance in just five minutes of play when he shot wide with the goals at his mercy.

Malandela’s nifty midfielder Mahlatse Mashikinya almost put his team two goals up when his thunderous shot was blocked by Poison keeper Wandile Dhlamini after he put his body on the line to save what was a goal-bound shot.

In the dying minutes of the first half, Moraka scored his brace when he slotted home a beautiful cross from a teammate to put his side 2–0 up.

Soon after Moraka got his brace, his colleague Katleho Khumalo had an attempt at goal but his casual shot never troubled Dhlamini as he collected the ball with ease.

Early in the second half, Poison assistant coach Mosala Mafikeng was given a yellow card for remonstrating with the referee in protest at one of his offside decisions.

Poison managed to pull one back when Sifiso Vilakazi was brought down in the box and the referee never hesitated in pointing to the penalty spot. Poison’s golden boot winner during their promotional league campaign the previous season, Nkosingiphile Nzimande stepped up to take the penalty and thundered it passed the keeper.

Poison’s Samdumisa Mbatha and Aleck Letsoela had their attempts at goals as the men in black and gold threw everything into attack in search of the elusive equaliser. To prove the intensity of the game, the referee issued a total of eight yellow cards, four apiece, and two of them going to coaches.

Malandela coach Vincent Rammoni said he was delighted to have accomplished a brace of wins over his opponents. “I have beaten them twice, in the first round and now, surely confirming that Malandela are the kings of Alex football. Even our detractors are now convinced we’re the kings,” he boasted.

Poison coach Wiseman Nkabini cursed his team’s missed chances. “Had we buried all our opportunities we would be speaking a different story now,” he lamented. “We came back very strongly in the second half. I told my men at halftime, not all was lost. If they could bury two in the first half, so can we.”

Related article:

https://northeasterntribune.co.za/183470/malandela-are-still-the-mighty-heroes/