Stars Make Wasteful Miscellaneous Pay Price
Koketso Kgoboge | Monday September 23, 2019 10:55
This after enduring a torrid time under scorching Saturday afternoon temperatures.
It was not the best of matches but the hosts controlled the tempo and enjoyed most of the possession. They pressed Stars on to the back foot and consistently visited their goals.
In the opening 10 minutes, they registered a corner and two shots on target. The other was a neat lobbed pass from Kaelo Kgano to set up Thapelo Kgosiyame inside the 16-metre. Kgosiyame’s half volley was cleared off the line.
Against the run of play in the quarter hour mark, the experienced Ofentse Mmipi shocked the hosts. He climbed higher and redirected Maikano Maikano’s long cross into the top right corner. The goal weighed heavily on the hosts. They lost shape and their passing game withered. Stars took advantage and worked into the game to match the hosts.
Miscellaneous starlet, Ernest Ngwaga produced a moment of brilliance in the 25th minute when he slid past his marker and drilled a low drive that almost kissed the far upright.
He was at it again eight minutes later.
Hamadzashe Moyo cushioned a ball onto his path with the chest, and he unleashed almost identical shot that left Takudzwa Ndoro wanting.
A minute later at the other end Mmipi was denied by the upright when he connected well to Monageng Thaele’s corner shot. The hosts half was summed up by lack of decisiveness, miscommunication and lost passes.
Miscellaneous returned from the dugout a revived side. They regained control of the encounter and created a series of attacks in the opening minutes.
Onalethata Obopile was left scratching his head when he had thought he caught the goalkeeper off the line. Ndoro recovered far from the goal line to tip the former’s effort over the bar.
The hosts did everything well but failed to put the ball into the net. They were rewarded with seven corner kicks in the second half and could not make them count.
Visitors struggled to contain the marauding Miscellaneous and ballooned all the balls wayward.
Stars caught Miscellaneous with a counter-attack in the 81st-minute after they cleared a corner. Thaele posted a long cross, the goalkeeper failed to handle and Emmanuel Machinya pounced and plucked home.
As shadows grew, the hosts fizzled out and struggled. An Oabile Bathusi additional minutes well-taken penalty saved them blushes. They had won the consolation penalty when Kago Kwena handled in the box.
“It was by far one of the toughest games for us. To get maximum points under this circumstance is really encouraging. We failed in a number of situations,” Mmesi said. Chippa Koolese bemoaned his target men. “We just can’t put the ball in the net. It’s four games now and we are not winning. We are failing upfront.”
The Teams:
Miscellaneous: Kagiso Moganetsi, Bokani Leeto, Obopile, Oganne Lesokola, Bathusi, Onalenna Molelekwa, Kgosiyame (Waitse Modiko), Kgano, Kebareng Baikise (Pako Modikwa), Moyo (Thabang Mokonyodi), Ngwaga
City Stars: Ndoro, Khumo Bogale, Kwena, Botlhe Rakaki, Maikano, Kabo Rasuping, Benson Ramolelwane, Thaele, Mmipi, Stephen Sibanda (Tsogang Israel), Malvin Chipunza (Machinya)
Miscellaneous 1 (Bathusi Pen 90th)
City Stars 2 (Mmipi 15th, Muchinya 81st)