By Chris Totobela
On Saturday, 11 March, a decent crowd filled Fiddler’s Green. The local SAB regional league derby was on show between the high flying Maru FC and struggling City Pirates. Both teams started the game like a house on fire, weighing each other while trying to find openings.
It was an end-to-end battle as both teams searched for an early goal. The battle of midfield intensified as both teams tried to control the proceedings. Both teams had clear-cut chances to take the lead in the game’s opening few minutes but failed to convert them.
The referee awarded Maru a soft penalty in the 17th minute of the game. He missed a foul against a Pirates player leading up to the penalty incident. Maru’s left back, Mawethu Mali, converted the spot kick to give his side the lead. City Pirates pushed forward and continued with their attacking game. They were unfortunate when the referee overlooked a similar incident that led to Maru’s penalty.
The City Pirates camp protested furiously, which led to one of their officials, Luntu Jela, getting a red card. An angry Jela confirmed the incident: “I got a red card after protesting against the referee’s inconsistency as he took two different decisions in two similar incidents”.
Maru grew stronger in midfield, started dictating the match and played dangerous balls behind the Pirates’ defence. In the 28th minute, the evergreen Maru’s lethal goal poacher Vuyani Skeyi, snuck behind the Pirates’ defence to steer home a perfect through-pass that caught the opponents napping to double Maru’s advantage. Maru took their lead to the halftime break.
In the second half, Pirates made some changes and brought on Aphelele Tyelbo, who made an immediate impact as he kept Maru’s defenders on their toes and injected some life into the dying City Pirates’ attack. Pirates enjoyed an excellent twenty-minute spell but failed to score as Maru’s defence did very well to absorb the pressure and kept them at bay. Pirates attackers were guilty of indecision in the final, which showed why they were languishing at the bottom of their stream.
Skeyi missed his brace when Maru broke forward and caught Pirates’s defence in sixes and sevens as he ballooned the ball over an open net. Both teams played good football but were guilty of missing too many clear cut chances. The referee blew the final whistle, and Maru walked away with maximum points in this entertaining Makhanda derby. Maru looked well organised but still lacked the killer instinct up front where it matters most. It was a good game of football which was very entertaining for the fans.
