KPFC dishes up entertaining football with 13 goals being scored
The first team played very well but ultimately came out on the wrong side of a seven-goal thriller.
KEMPTON Park Football Club’s senior sides were hosted by Luso on Saturday and although only a single point was gained, both games were hugely entertaining with no fewer than 13 goals being scored.
The first team played very well but ultimately came out on the wrong side of a seven-goal thriller.
Luso struck the bar before taking the lead by way of a superb Marco de Graca free kick which was awarded for the most innocuous of challenges. Kempton bounced back immediately with the Luso keeper making a good save from a right-footed Verenga drive.
An equalising goal was on the cards and when Masilela put Verenga in on a sharp angle, his snap shot was parried left by the goalie who could only watch as an onrushing Rodwel Mtawarira swept the ball into a gaping net.
The game was being played at a breathless pace but both defences held out until late in the half where further Kempton defensive hesitation led to Luso taking an opportunistic lead just before half-time.
The second half was a fairly even affair until Kempton made the scores level. Chances were squandered as both defences just about coped with two rampaging forward lines. Zuks Bahlakazi struck the underside of the cross bar from a Grant Terrey corner. Shots blazed high and wide for both teams.
The goal came after a Verenga shot was half-saved by the Luso keeper and finished off by Mbaso Thando, who bundled the ball into the back of the net.
The turning point in the game came when the referee controversially awarded Luso a penalty midway through the second half. The alleged culprit, Ociano Pretorius, was deemed to have handled the ball in the penalty area but to all intents and purposes, he did not seem to have handled it and seemed to be some distance outside the area. The ball was duly fired home with Kempton goalkeeper Dean Workman guessing right but ultimately unable to stop it.
Luso went 4-2 ahead when a long ball was latched onto by a striker who seemed so far offside he must have been outside of the linesman’s peripheral vision. As he approached the goal, an onrushing Dean Workman cut off his angle and he proceeded to feed a fellow team mate, who was standing even further forward, behind the goalie and had the easiest of finishes.
As the linesman chose to ignore this as well, a goal was duly awarded.
Kempton never stopped going and with 12 minutes left they were awarded a penalty for a clear hand ball. Bahlakazi hit the ball low to the keeper’s right and a stunning save was produced.
There was more drama, however, as the linesman raised his flag to indicate the goalie was well off his line before the penalty was taken. Unperturbed, Bahlakazi rifled the retaken effort home to make it 4-3.
Kempton battled hard to take a share of the spoils but were victims of Luso time-wasting and gamesmanship, which unfortunately spoiled a fine contest in the dying minutes.
It was a good away performance, however, and on another day things could have been very different.
Man of the Match was Given Maredi on debut.
Second team
The second team flew out of the blocks and had a panicky Luso defence at sixes and sevens right from the start.
Didi Kasalu opened the scoring with a wonderful curling long-range strike which nestled in the top right-hand corner. Kempton were at ease for the first 20 minutes with their goals rarely threatened.
Unfortunately, a mad five minutes was to follow. Hesitation at the back led to an easy equaliser for Luso, the ball being tapped in at the back post; and, after keeper Gercheon Fienies prematurely came off his line, Luso were able to take an undeserved lead.
Humphrey Boitopelo struck a free kick against the bar and Kasalu fired wide before half-time but Luso took a 2-1 lead into the break.
The second half was an all-out attacking affair with the formation often resembling 5-5 for both sides. Luso squandered a couple of half chances and Kempton failed with a brace of weak shots before they were awarded a penalty for a waist-high challenge.
Skillo Ditshego stepped up and scored his ninth consecutive spot kick for the club. Kempton went hunting for a winner and Luso were fortunate to hang on as a series of corners and attacks were repulsed.
Finally, a third goal came 10 minutes from time when Johannes Modiba unleashed a fearsome shot from 35 yards out, which flew in inside the right-hand post.
With a minute remaining, Kempton succumbed to another soft goal when a long throw was flicked on
for veteran Nuno Gomes to gently volley in at the back post.
It ended 3-3, but it was a game Kempton could easily have won.
