Old Bens’ firsts draw league opener
The Eastern Local Football Association (ELFA) Super League Seniors Division Two kicked off on Saturday, April 4, with Old Bens Football Club’s first and second teams doing battle at home, against newcomers to the league Varsity College.
Bens, playing their first home competitive fixture at Currin Park, under new coach Raymond Cloete, started brightly and could have easily gone 4-0 up, but for the number of opportunities squandered in the first half of the match.
Much to the frustration of the Bens coach and his players, Varsity College managed to open the scoring against the run of play in the second period.
Old Bens again enjoyed long spells with the football, but chance after chance went begging right up until the remaining five minutes, when central midfielder Kagiso “Gee” More latched on to a well placed pass to stick the ball past Varsity College’s goalkeeper and ensure that the spoils were shared, with a 1-1 draw.
Cloete could not believe that his team had drawn the match and said: “We should have won at least 6-1, with 75 per cent of the possession and about 33 shots on goal.
“Finishing will definitely be a priority at training at this week.”
He added that the man-of-the-match award was shared by Eduardo Mendes and More.
Meanwhile, in the second team match, played prior to the first XI’s kick-off, the Bens reserve team started their season on the back foot.
They went down 2-1 to Varsity College, and also squandered a number of good chances in their match.
Registration issues and injuries meant that the team were forced to play the entire match with 10 men.
- The first team also recently received a sponsorship from Dual Products International (South Africa), coupled with Stuart Coal and Pride Bulk Logistics. Cloete thanked them for their involvement with the Old Bens first XI.
