Northerns miss out on goal difference

Benoni Northerns Football Club’s first team narrowly missed out on qualifying for the semi-finals of the Castle Super League Promotional Play-Offs, on goal difference, on Saturday, July 20, at the Boksburg Stadium.

The regional play-offs, organised by SAFA Ekurhuleni, gave the club an opportunity to qualify and get a franchise in the Castle Super League, three divisions below the Premier Soccer League (PSL).

They were drawn in a group alongside Nkele Smiling Bees (Springs LFA) and Vision Strikers (Nigel LFA).

The winner of the group progressed to the semi-finals, and the two teams who reached the final would qualify for the league.

Northerns, led by defender Gordon Brown, were eager to make their mark, started brightly against Nkele Smiling Bees and, after about 10 minutes, hit the post.

Another Northerns’ attack saw right midfielder Michael Edwards’s shot parried onto the crossbar by the Smiling Bees goalkeeper.

As the first half progressed, the Benoni team had some excellent interplay between the midfielders and had most of the possession.

Bees had a good chance to score, but Northerns shot stopper Daniel de Abreu made a telling save.

As Northerns pressed forward, the opposition managed to take advantage and caught the defence napping at times.

The teams went into the break at 0-0.

Soon after kick-off, Smiling Bees managed to beat the Northerns defence and score past de Abreu.

Bees were also unfortunate not to get a penalty decision when de Abreu brought down one of their players in the penalty area, but the referee turned down their appeals.

As the game wore on things got heated on the park and Northerns threw everything at Bees in order to get a goal.

They managed to achieve this soon after, when a goalmouth scramble saw Edwards place a shot past the Smiling Bees goalkeeper.

The game ended at 1-1.

In the second fixture, Northerns squared up against Vision Strikers in a fast-paced, energetic match.

The score was 0-0 at halftime and the Benoni team knew that goals were needed to progress.

Manqoba “Shakes” Ngwenya opened the scoring for Northerns with a spectacular shot into the top right corner, but Vision Strikers equalised soon after.

As the game wore on, a shot from Joel Nchbeleng forced a goalkeeping howler that saw Northerns take the lead in the dying embers of the match.

Qualification for the semi-finals on Sunday was dependent on the result between Smiling Bees and Vision Strikers.

Northerns’ hopes were dashed as Bees won 3-1 and progressed as top of the group, on goal difference.

First team coach Flavio Mariuzzi said that although the team did not progress to the semi-finals, he was very proud of the way the team played.

“We did not have a lot of time to prepare for the tournament, so there was nothing more I could have asked from the boys,” he said.

“It was disappointing not to qualify, but it definitely gives us hope moving forward.”

Northerns will face Highlands in a top-of-the-table clash, at Northern Areas, on Saturday, July 27, with kick-off at 3.30pm.