Cambridge Football Club travelled to Tembisa to face Ambassadors FC at Esiqongweni Stadium as part of the Hollywood Bets Football league on December 5.

The playing conditions were tricky with an uneasy pitch.

It forced the visiting Cambridge FC team to be creative to deliver a performance that would at least see them leave Tembisa with a point, but it wasn’t to be.

Within the opening five minutes, the match officials awarded the home team a soft penalty kick, putting the Nigel team immediately on the back foot, and they scored to make the scoreline 1-0 to the Ambassadors.

Cambridge tried their best to play attacking football but felt frustrated by dubious officiating.

This curbed their free-flowing play and shifted it toward a more defensive style.

Cambridge, without a few key defenders on the day, still managed to keep good possession, but the field made it extremely difficult to put passes together.

Long shots and passes were needed to get the ball away from the attacking team.

The home team, in their backyard, created scoring opportunities that the Cambridge keeper easily dealt with.

In the second half, Bridges tried a different approach to the match but failed to convert opportunities into goals.

Ambassadors caught the away team on the counterattack time and again and scored their second goal late on in the match.

The final score was 2-0.

“The boys give it their all. I’m proud of them, but poor finishing and being clinical in front of goals will cost you in away games. We have to score when opportunities are presented. Today we have learnt the hard way, but we will take the positives and move on. When match officials make poor decisions, it has an impact on the results, but we learn,” said coach Kamohelo Motloung.

“Yes, it’s a bitter pill to swallow, and it’s never easy on the road. The players need to understand that opportunities need to be converted into points,” said the club’s chairperson, Ignatius Maphike.