Bens extend their lead

Old Bens Football Club’s first XI travelled to Delville, on Saturday, June 15, in one of the most eye-catching first round fixtures of the ELFA Super League Senior Division Two.

A loss for Germiston City to Springs, last week, gave Bens a slender lead at the top of the table, and a win in Delville was paramount for the team from Benoni.

A tough encounter was always expected and things were not looking good for Old Bens in the early exchanges, with Germiston on top for most of the first 20 minutes.

Had it not been for the gloves of goalkeeper Matthew Carter, who pulled off one brilliant save after another in the first half, the team could have gone down by three or four within the first period.

Germiston would eventually break the deadlock, scoring from a corner to put the home team 1-0 up.

Ten minutes later, however, Old Bens’ Eduardo Mendes broke down the line, crossed the ball into the area and found striker Kenny Masuku, who knocked the ball in to level the scores and send the teams into the break at 1-1.

The second half proved to be a different story, as Bens took charge of the possession.

Cloete’s men upped the pressure on their opponents and, even when Masuku was shown a red card (for a second yellow), they managed to keep the intensity up and score what would ultimately be the winner for the visitors.

Lesiba Modau hit a terrific shot that ricocheted to the penalty spot and found Kingsley Laka, who placed the ball past the Germiston goalkeeper to make it 2-1.

Germiston also had a player dismissed for a second yellow card and could not stop Old Bens from returning to Currin Park with all three points in the back and a four-point gap at the top of the log.

A loss by third-placed Springs to Varsity College also means that Bens have some breathing space at the top as the first round of matches draws to a close.

The league leaders will play Springs at Old Bens, on Saturday, June 21.

“It was a good game for us, because it means we have a good lead going into the second round of matches,” said Cloete.

“We know that there is still a long way to go in the season, so we will stay focused.”

Cloete added that his Man of the Match for the game was his goalkeeper, Carter.

Meanwhile, the Old Bens second XI pulled off a gutsy 1-0 win over Germiston in the match prior to the first team kick-off.