Six goals were scored at Northern Areas, when Benoni Northerns Football Club’s (BNFC) first XI drew 3-3 with East Sporting, on Saturday, August 16.
This ELFA Super League Seniors Division One encounter was a fiery affair, with both teams playing quick, attacking football that resulted in a good spectacle for supporters at the club.
Northerns’ squad has been tested to the limits this season and coach Flavio Mariuzzi was again required to elevate some of the club’s second team players into his starting line-up.
According to Mariuzzi, these players showed their mettle and really held their own against strong opposition, particularly after going down 2-0 to Sporting relatively early into the first stanza.
One of these players, right midfielder Ernest Makalaka, took his chance on Saturday, scoring a brace of goals, including the first and the third, for BNFC in the second half.
Sunday Mabalane, playing up front, bagged the second for Northerns.“We did well,” said Mariuzzi.
“We have had so many players out through injury and other factors, so the guys who have been called up from the second team have been standing up to the task.”
Northerns are unbeaten in their last five Super League encounters and the possibility of finishing as high as second in the league is beginning to look more and more achievable – that is, of course, if BNFC can get the maximum points from their four remaining fixtures.
“All of a sudden we have become difficult to beat again and have begun showing great unity and fight,” added the coach.
With no match scheduled for this weekend, Mariuzzi is grateful for the rest period, as regular starters like Graham Turnbull and Brogan Shrimpton could make a return for the remaining league fixtures in the next game.
The team will host Highlands Park on Saturday, August 30, at 3.30pm, at Northerns.
- Meanwhile, the BNFC second XI managed a 3-2 victory against Sporting in the game prior to the first team kick-off.
