Stars toppled from league summit
New jockey on the peak as United Stars is toppled from the summit of the ANLFA Promotional League with only six more games to go.
A new jockey has summited the Alexandra Northland Local Football Association’s Promotional League after this past weekend’s [May 5] highly anticipated games.
This comes after the long-standing ruler of the promotional league roost, United Stars was toppled from the summit by the slick new outfit of aspiring champions, Black Mask FC.
The Mask outfit, which has been slowly but surely climbing up the rungs of the league, mounted the summit through a 6-1 destruction of a Socca Dream outfit.
Stars had been at the summit since day one of the league, now in its full swing of the second round after 22 games played and fast racing towards the finish line with only six more matches to go.
The River Park-based side was replaced at the top by Mask after losing to Alex Royal Tigers SC which is also steadily climbing up the ladder.
Tigers displayed an amazing last-minute predatory instinct of a smash-and-grab affair to grab all the three points at stake in the match played at the Alexandra Stadium with a 2-1 score line.
The match was equally balanced with both sides asking early questions on their opposing keepers and were punctuated by brilliant saves.
A penalty was awarded to Stars after one of its players was tripped inside the box and Nhlanhla Makgopa buried the spot kick to give his side the lead. But that was short-lived as Tigers’ Kadi Mohlopi was also tripped in the box.
The referee awarded another penalty on the other side and Rowan Khazi raised his hand to take the spot kick and never made a mistake to level the score line and the two teams went into the oranges break deadlocked 1-1.
In the second half, Stars’ Castro headed straight into the hands of the keeper Nhlanhla Ntuli instead of forcing him to make a save. From Castro’s attempt, play swung to the other goalposts where Stars keeper Nthiso Botsolo was forced to make one of the most outstanding saves of his career.
Moabi Boikanyo had thundered a lightning shot that found Botsolo well-positioned to make a brilliant save to keep his teammates in the game. Njabulo ‘NJay’ Shabalala failed to pinpoint his header which went astray.
Straight from NJay’s header, it was time for the Tigers’ smash-and-grab goal from the boot of Khazi to earn himself a brace to seal victory for the Tigers outfit.
All the Stars player ‘dropped down dead’ on the pitch as the referee blew his whistle for the 90. In the first round of the league, Stars and Tigers played to a 1-1 draw.
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