United Stars bounce back with 4-2 win over Ma-Africa
Coming off back-to-back losses last week, United Stars returned stronger to clinch a 4-2 win over Ma-Africa on Saturday.
United Stars FC pulled up its socks to beat Ma-Africa FC 4-2 in the SAFA Johannesburg Hollywoodbets Regional League fixture at the Alex Safe Hub on Saturday.
While the early minutes might have looked intense from the outside, United Stars FC coach Sakhile Zulu said it was not as tough a game as people might assume.
The results show United Stars’ hopeful fight to climb up the log, especially after a difficult weekend last week, losing 2-0 against the Rebels on Saturday, and 1-0 against Loyo Stars FC on Sunday.
Read more: Alexandra North Rand Local Football Association wishes United Stars well in new adventure
Zulu said his boys came fully prepared for this week’s fixture. “We once sat without playing any games for a long time, and we are now picking up. We are trying to go up, so there was no way we would give Ma-Africa a chance to defeat us today.”
He revealed that they studied Ma-Africa’s play style and built the entire strategy on how to better defend and attack during their training sessions. And this preparation, at least according to Zulu, gave United Stars an upper hand in their Saturday fixture.
“It was not a tough match. We missed a lot of chances in the first half. We even missed a penalty. I can’t say it was a tough game for us. We just did not finish up in the first half.”
Zulu said the game changed at half-time after a direct conversation with the players. “During half-time, we told them to relax so that we can get more goals, they did, and we got more goals.”
Also read: No surrender until the fat lady sings, vows United Stars boss
He explained the tactical plan, noting that in the first half, they deliberately played defensive and hit the opponent with second balls. But then in the second half, they drew Ma-Africa in, and when Ma-Africa tried to gain possession, United Stars would exploit the sides to create one-on-one opportunities.
“The aim was to get one on one situations. That is why we let them come to us. It so that we can take the balls and play them on the sides.”
While the United Stars still has a lot of work to do to gain points, the Saturday fixture showed they are starting to climb again.
Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok for the latest updates!
