AFTER two workmanlike but fairly insipid 1-0 victories over Germiston and Boksburg, where chances aplenty went begging, the management team of Trevor Botha and Graeme Rutherford both said someone would soon be getting a hiding from an increasingly confident Kempton Park Football Club first team.
They were not wrong. Alberton arrived at the weekend, completely oblivious to the fact that they were just about to be hit for 7-0 as Kempton ran riot and romped to their biggest victory of the season so far.
After a few early scares, which included an Alberton header flashing wide, a clearance off the line by Byron Jarman and a great free kick save by Dean Workman, Kempton took the lead when Zivai Verenga pounced on an opportunity in a goal mouth scramble and fired home from six yards out.
This goal gave the impetus for a completely dominant Kempton performance thereafter. Dion Homela doubled the lead with a tremendous curling strike that left the Alberton goalkeeper flailing at air.
Kempton were rampant and the occasional foray into their territory was easily thwarted by central defensive pairing Zuks Bahlakazi and Jarman. Minutes before half time, Kempton had a third when a marauding run down the right by Quenn Hartridge ended with his exquisite centre being rammed home by Warren Gardner.
The half ended with Kempton cruising comfortably at 3-0.
Kempton kept their feet on the Alberton throats into the second half and a pair of one-twos between Homela and Thando Mbasa led to the latter putting in Verenga towards goal. Verenga twisted around a bamboozled defender and lashed a fierce left foot shot into the bottom left hand corner.
Kempton were playing champagne football now and when Grant Terrey burst down the left and picked out Homela, who viciously planted his side footer under the goalie, it was five.
But the goals of the day were still to come. When a floated ball into the box left Gardner unmarked, he chanced his arm and scored with a spectacular overhead kick that kissed the left hand post on its way in. Gardner completed the rout when he collected the ball from Humphrey Boitopelo on the right and deftly chipped it over a hopelessly stranded keeper to complete his second hat-trick of the season.
The second team were involved in a six-goal scoring fest with both sides taking a share of the spoils.
Kempton took an early lead when Darren Smith deflected a cross in from the left. Alberton got themselves back into the game when poor defending allowed them the opportunity to equalise.
Three minutes later Kempton were 2-1 down when goalkeeper Gercheon Feinies misjudged a fairly innocuous cross and Alberton slotted into an empty net.
The second half began with an early goal to Alberton when a near post centre was mis-hit by an Alberton forward but ultimately looped into the goal.
Kempton kept pressing though and when Rudolph Komape was hauled down the resultant penalty was smashed in by Skillo Ditshego.
The equaliser arrived when Komape and Given Maredi combined down the right, leaving Maredi with a run on goal. Komape had rushed to the back post and a perfect Maredi ball left him with little to do but side foot into an empty net.
Kempton could have won it with the final kick of the game but Komape contrived to miss from three yards out, his right footed efford spinning crazily wide of the left hand upright.
3-3 at the end and a great comeback by the Kempton reserves.
The third team lost 4-3 to bottom of the table World Net after taking a 2-0 lead into the second half and then leading 3-0.
They were 3-2 up going into the last five minutes but some shambolic defending and erratic goalkeeping let them down in the end.
