Luso Africa pulled off a big win on Saturday, beating Benoni Northerns 2-0 at Hattingh Park.
This was a clash between seconds (Northerns) and thirds.
Luso looked like the better side from the start, as they were applying pressure to their opponents.
Although they put on pressure from the start of the game, there were not too many goal-scoring opportunities created by the home side.
This all changed when the home side were awarded a free kick from close to the box.
Northerns’ defence failed to deal with the cross and Luso manged to score.
The goal gave the home side even more confidence and they started to look more dangerous.
They had the visitors’ goal under siege and the Northerns’ goalkeeper had to pull off great saves to stop Luso.
Luso had the opposition in trouble, especially in set pieces, as Northerns seemed to struggle to defend against corners and free kicks.
The two sides went into halftime with Luso leading 1-0.
The second period saw much of the same, as Luso looked dangerous with corners.
The visitors were not convincing going forward and had to do something to pull the game back.
They brought on former Mamelodi Sundowns star Manqoba Ngwenya to trouble Luso’s defence.
Ngwenya almost equalised from a free kick, but great goalkeeping stopped his shot.
Luso thought they had doubled their lead when they had the ball in the back of the net, only for the referee to award them a foul.
This seemed to be a strange decision by the official, as spectators felt that he should have played advantage for the home side.
It did not take long for the second goal to come, however.
A swift counter attack move saw Luso double the lead and effectively put the game out of the opposition’s reach.
But, Northerns did not give up.
They had a chance of pulling a goal back when Ngwenya was fouled in the 18-yard box.
The tall former Premier Soccer League star got up to take the penalty and spectators watched in horror as the spot kick sailed over the bar.
