Hooliganism mars TAFIC victory

MQONDISI DUBE
Correspondent | Friday April 11, 2008 00:00

 

The incident overshadowed a brilliant TAFIC performance, which saw the struggling Francistown side emerge with a 2-1 victory, in the process bursting Nico's bubble.

When the referee, Isaac Mawila from Francistown blew the final whistle, furious home supporters threw missiles into the pitch and hit assistant referee, Omphile Phuthego on his left knee.

Phuthego who was in tears after the incident, had to be rushed to hospital. Seemingly, Mawila was the target as missiles rained in at the end of the match. He made a number of questionable decisions against the home team and made matters worse by awarding a controversial penalty to TAFIC. This left Nico supporters seething.

Nico coach, Madinda Ndlovu did not condone the fans' unruly behaviour but said the referee's performance was not up to scratch. Security guards had to cordon the stadium exit as angry fans bayed for Mawila's blood.

On the field of play, TAFIC looked the more dangerous of the two sides and deservedly went away with the three points. As has become the norm, Nico bullied their opponents in the first half but could not score.

TAFIC took the lead against the run of play in the 31st minute when former Nico forward, Tamocha Bedi rose to power his header past goalkeeper Chrispen Nyamutambo. Earlier, Nico threatened to take the lead on numerous occasions. In the 11th minute, the TAFIC defence did well to clear a dangerous Nico attack and then two minutes later, Mawila waved away penalty claims from the home side. The game continued at a blistering pace, with Nico dictating terms. But their leading striker, Master Masitara had a subdued game and the burden fell on nippy forward, Thobo 'Fish' Kgoboge. In the 36th minute, Nico drew level when Tefo Molefhi scored with a low shot. Then Kgoboge thumped a stinger narrowly wide of goal minutes before halftime.

New TAFIC coach, Willard Mashinkila-Khumalo read the riot act to his boys during the breather and Matjiminyenga came back firing from all cylinders. Bedi could have put the visitors ahead in the 66th minute but he failed to score.

Four minutes later, Kgoboge had his goal-bound shot blocked and the ball flew out for a corner. With 12 minutes remaining on the clock, Mawila awarded TAFIC a penalty though Nico felt it was not justified. Sizalobuhle Dube converted the spot kick. The win boosted TAFIC's survival chances although they remain in the relegation zone. They now lie sixth on the log with 31 points with seven games remaining. They face another tough test when they take on unpredictable ECCO City Greens in a local derby at Francistown Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

On the other hand, Majombolo are placed on the 10th position with 29 points from 22 games and face a tricky assignment against visiting BDF XI at the Selebi-Phikwe Stadium tomorrow. All games kick off at 4pm.