Mayhem in KZN as Arrows shoot down nine-man SuperSport

Just when you thought referee Akhona Makalima was brave for making two penalty calls in the first half of Saturday evening’s DStv Premiership tie between Golden Arrows and SuperSport United at the Princess Magogo Stadium, she went a step further and gave Matsatsantsa A Pitori two red cards in the second stanza.

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In fact, if you were looking for a thrilling game this weekend, few came close to this tie. There were, comebacks, red cards. crazy fouls, penalties, and whatever else you can think of. In the end, the hosts walked away with all the points after making use of their numerical advantage to win 3-2, as SuperSport had to see out the game with nine-man.

Thamsanqa Gabuza was the first to be shown red in the 55th minute. “Ganda-Ganda” was adjudged to have fouled Nkosinathi Sibisi and the lady in the middle gave the former Orlando Pirates striker a straight red card, which was the third in his career.  Soon after, Iqraam Rayners saw red for stepping on Nduduzo Sibiya after the duo vied for an aerial ball, but after neither men could retrieve the ball from the air. Rayners stayed on his feet and stepped on his opponent’s ribs.

Before the red card, Rayners was a thorn in the flesh for Arrows’ defence. Just 10 minutes into the game, he was brought down by Thabani Zuke in the box. Jamie Webber, who has been Matsatsantsa A Pitori’s trusted penalty taker this season, proved why the coaches have so much faith in him from 12 yards as he coolly converted in the 12th minute to give the visitors the lead.

Some six minutes later, it was Abafana Bes’thende’s chance to take a spot kick – Sifiso Ngobeni was the culprit as he brought down Sibiya. Sibiya took the responsibility himself and made no mistake, firing past Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Ronwen Williams. The Spartans then swung the advantage back to their favour when they scored again in the 25th minute. Rayners was involved once again as he played a cross into the box, finding Selebalo Rasebotja, who netted his maiden DStv Premiership goal since he was promoted from the DStv Diski Challenge team.

The match-winning moments came in the latter stages of the game when Knox Mutizwa and Velemseni Ndwandwe took advantage of the numerical advantage, making sure that SuperSport left empty handed. Mutizwa netted the eqauslier in the 79th minute and Ndwandwe sealed the deal with a fine header with 10 minutes left on the clock to complete the comeback.