Sam Hamade’s brace was not enough to earn Old Bens all three points as Byron Matthews struck with the final kick of the match to secure a dramatic 2-2 draw for Luso Africa in a top-of-the-table Eastern Super League clash at Currin Park on July 25.

Hamade’s early second-half goal looked set to hand the hosts victory, but Matthews arrived at the back post to tap home a pinpoint cross and snatch a share of the spoils after Siyabonga Mabena had squandered a golden opportunity to put the game beyond Luso’s reach moments earlier.

Old Bens missed the chance to extend their lead at the top of the standings and were left to rue missed opportunities against an out-of-form Luso side. Their task was made even harder when Tico Ngwenya and Siphesihle Maseko were both sent off following a second-half scuffle.

Despite arriving in Benoni on the back of their worst start to a Super League campaign in years, Andrew Kelly’s men showed resilience by coming from behind twice to keep their title hopes alive.

Old Bens started brightly, with Mabena and Spiros Avgoustis combining well with Hameda in attack. Their pressure paid off early as Hamade opened the scoring with what looked like a routine effort, but Luso keeper Hlanganani Ntuli failed to gather the tame shot cleanly as it ricocheted off his hands into the net.

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The Germiston side almost responded immediately through Austin Nkosi, who blazed over after Luthando Mashwa played him through with a sublime pass. Nkosi quickly made amends, though, racing onto a long ball, muscling past Lebo Mamale and calmly slotting beyond Neil Bouwer to level the scores.

The visitors enjoyed more of the possession after equalising and nearly went ahead when Bandile Mhlongo’s first-time strike crashed against the crossbar. At the other end, Mabena failed to capitalise on an Old Bens counterattack, firing straight at Ntuli with the goal at his mercy.

Hamade then headed Josh Hurst’s corner over the crossbar as the teams went into the break level at 1-1.

Old Bens emerged for the second half with renewed purpose and were rewarded when Hamade grabbed his second of the afternoon to restore the lead.

He latched onto a long ball and won a tussle with Mashwa. With Ntuli anticipating a back header from his defender, Hamade kept his composure, held off the challenge and calmly guided the ball beyond the exposed goalkeeper.

The match soon descended into chaos after Avgoustis was brought down, sparking a mass confrontation involving players and both benches. The incident resulted in red cards for Old Bens duo Maseko and Ngwenya, while Luso also had a player dismissed.

Reduced to nine men, Old Bens continued to threaten on the counter and should have wrapped up the points. Mabena produced a dazzling run down the right, beating his marker with ease before rounding the goalkeeper, but a recovering defender intercepted just before he could apply the finishing touch.

That miss proved costly.

Deep into stoppage time, Matthews ghosted in at the back post to convert a superb cross from the left and silence the home crowd, before celebrating in front of the Old Bens faithful as the referee blew for full-time moments after the restart.

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