Giyani Happy Boys pull themselves from bottom

This follows a streak of losses that saw them lose to teams one after another dropping to the bottom of the league standings. During the first half of the match on Saturday, both teams attacked each other ferociously with a few shots occasionally missing posts. But despite the battle appearing evenly balanced, the Happy Boys mostly played more defence than attack, giving the impression of a trapped cat attempting to fight its way out.

Their 1-0 victory five minutes before the final whistle was astonishing. The referee’s poor eyesight arguably played in favour of the Happy Boys, as he missed a foul play that could have seen Madridtas take a penalty shot against the host team, which could have led to a draw. This could have dealt a serious blow to the Happy Boys, who were already under pressure to win something to please their frustrated supporters, some of whom were already beginning to boycott their games.

Also read: Mpheni Home Defenders lead with sizable margin

Their attempts to escape the threat of a swinging relegation axe if they remained at the bottom of the league, have also been strengthened by their victory on Saturday. This saw them move two steps up, from position nine out of ten teams currently participating in the ABC Motsepe Stream-A league to position seven. Madridtas moved down to position eight. United Artist FC (12 points from 12 games) and Musina United FC (6 points from the same number of games) are the two teams that used to trade places with the Happy Boys at the bottom of the league log.

Now that the Happy Boys are out of the woods, Madridtas looks set to join these teams. Another club that played over the weekend was Maruleng Celtic FC, which drew 1-1 with Munaca FC. Mpheni FC also drew 1-1 with Vondwe Xi Bullets, followed by another 1-1 draw in a match between Winners Park and United Artists. Meanwhile, Emanuel FC clawed back to second place in the league after winning 2-0 against Musina FC on Friday.