Did someone say Benoni Derby?

A Benoni football derby took place on May 1 between Benoni Northerns and Old Benonians with each team winning a section of the day.

Benoni Northerns coaches Enrique Juanas-Uriol, Len van Rooyen and George Poulos said they were most pleased with the results.

“When it comes to a local derby, it doesn’t matter where you are in the league or what form you’re in, both teams rise to the occasion and give it 150 per cent,” said Juanas-Uriol.

First to run onto the pitch were the reserves, concluding with a final score of 1-0 to Old Bens.

“I believe our team was most unlucky to come home with nothing to show for,” explained Juanas-Uriol.

“We conceded a goal that was miles offside, we had a dubious sending off of a player and we weren’t awarded a goal when the ball hit the crossbar and clearly crossed the line.

“It was a game of two halves with Old Bens dominating the first and Northerns the second.”

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Northerns began piling on the pressure towards the end.

“We threw everything at Old Bens, even though we were a man down, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be,” he said.

“A fair result would have been a 1-1 draw but that is football for you, outcome accepted, take the lessons and move on.”

Northerns reserves remain third in the league with five wins and three losses.

Later in the afternoon, the first teams took their places on the field with Benoni Northerns beating Old Bens 3-1.

“It wasn’t a pretty game, but one full of tension,” Juanas-Uriol said.

“It was a hard game, but the guys played competitively, playing very well in the first quarter of the game, keeping possession and dictating play, which led to mistakes by Old Bens and therefore allowed us to score two early goals.”

One goal was scored by Northerns captain Nyaks and the other by Northerns striker Kwanda.

“We then lost the plot somewhat and took the foot off the pedal, allowing Old Bens to get back into the game and take charge,” he explained.

“We looked good going forward but did not defend as a unit when playing without the ball, making life difficult for ourselves, forcing our back four to play deep and having to absorb lots of pressure.

“In the second half, we improved slightly with the game becoming more even, and we finally sealed the victory with a great header.”

The third and final goal was a header, corner shot, from Northerns’ other striker Kaylem.

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“A big thank you to our hosts, Old Bens, it was a memorable derby after a year without football due to Covid-19,” he said.

“We look forward to meeting Old Bens in the second round at our home.”

To date, Northerns first team has played seven, won five, drawn one and lost two, placing them in fourth place within the league, only one point behind the teams who are in third and second place.

The next three games for Northerns will be at their home ground against Musa, Zwide and Edenvale football teams.