By Chris Totobela
On Sunday, football lovers made their way to JD Dlepu Stadium to witness a rare Hollywood Bets Regional L
eague Sunday game between two local sides. Maru hosted Young Eagles in a very exciting encounter that was filled with flair.
The game started at a blistering pace, with both teams showing their intentions as early as the first minute. Eagles tested Maru’s goalkeeper from the kickoff, all the way from the halfway line, but it was a routine catch for him. Maru combined with some neat passes and went on to score in the second minute of the game, when Aviwe Payi’s shot rattled the upright, bounced back into play and was finished off by Lukhanyo Vena, to give Maru an early lead.
Eagles replied a few minutes later after Maru’s left-back was taken to the cleaners by the Eagles’ right winger who played a hard and low cross that was tapped home. Hard and dangerous tackles flew all over the field, and quite a number of them went unpunished.
Both teams went to the halftime break level with one goal apiece.
In the second half, after absorbing pressure for some time, Maru took the lead with a well-taken header by Vuyani Skeyi after a corner kick. Eagles immediately found an equaliser after miscommunication at the back, which allowed Aphiwe “Neyma” Tom to tap home from close range to complete his brace.
Both teams went toe to toe, searching for a winner, and it took something special from Luyolo “Pepesi” Matiwane to separate the two sides. Matiwane overlapped and found himself with acres of space behind the Eagles’ defence and fired home a rocket that left the keeper for dead, to win the game for his side.
Eagles went in search of an equaliser, but Maru’s goalminder staved off the attempts, with some breathtaking saves, to make sure that his side walked away with all maximum points at the final whistle. Maru redeemed themselves after losing two previous regional league local derbies to City Pirates and Jacaranda Aces, respectively.
