By Chris Totobela
All roads led to JD Dlepu stadium this past Saturday. On show was the Hollywood Bets Regional League clash between hosts City Pirates and XI Attackers in a highly anticipated local derby that has never failed to produce fireworks.
Local football lovers packed JD Dlepu Stadium in Joza, creating a great atmosphere for both teams.
The game started with both teams playing cautiously and weighing each other while waiting for openings. It did not take long before both teams threw caution to the wind and started attacking each other.
Attackers’ ball retention and rotation was superb while Pirates looked very dangerous when they had the ball. Pirates’ winger and dribbling wizard, Aphelele “Seven” Tyelbooi, ran rings around the Attackers’ defence and it was his perfect through pass that found Bahle “Fakaza” Ndyolashe unmarked inside the box, and he steered it home to open the scoring.
The goal stunned Attackers into action as they played with a bit of urgency, but were guilty of over passing the ball at times or passing it to wrong areas instead of dangerous areas. Pirates took their lead to the halftime break.
In the second half, both teams started where they left off with Attackers dominating the midfield battle and playing with more purpose searching for an equaliser. The game seemed too much for the man in the middle as both sets of players kept on shouting at him for the wrong decisions and lack of consistency in his decisions.
Attackers took the game to Pirates and forced them to defend. Pirates absorbed the pressure very well but they finally succumbed when Attackers equalised after a neat passing game. Sihle “General” Ntlanjeni tapped the ball into an open net after the keeper failed to deal with a cross from the right.
The game opened up nicely as both teams searched for a winning goal while displaying good attacking football with flair. Both teams became desperate as they also dished out dangerous tackles. They both created many chances to win the game but were both guilty of rushing things in the final third of the field.
Attackers’ new midfield sensation, 17-year-old Anga Shwempe played like a seasoned player as he dictated terms in midfield and played an important role in every attacking move.
However, both teams had to settle for an entertaining one-all draw as the final whistle sounded to end a great game of football.
The game was nearly spoilt by the man in the middle as he did not match the energy, skill and braveness that was displayed by these two Makhanda football giants on the day.
But what a way to kick off the new year!
Credit must be given to both camps for playing such a brilliant and competitive game after just a week or two of training after the festive break.
