Black Aces succumb to spirited Free State outfit

Bloemfontein Celtic were too good for a lacklustre Mpumalanga Black Aces side when they beat the home team 2-0 in wet conditions at the Mbombela Stadium on Wednesday, December 17.

Two goals in the second half from Frank Mhango sealed the win for Clinton Larsen’s men. Clive Barker will be scratching his head after Aces could so easily have turn things around on home soil after dominating possession in the first half.

Before the start of the match, a short moment of silence was held for forward Aces defender, Joseph Henyekane who had passed away earlier this week.

Aces had a number of goalscoring opportunities in the first 10 minutes with the best one falling to midfield maestro Aubrey Ngoma. Ngoma dashed through the defense and hit a powerful shot from the edge of the box only to see it canon off the crossbar.

Betheul Tukane, Ngoma and Lehlohonolo Nonyane combined effectively in using the space of the left hand side of the pitch as they ran Celtic ragged with sleek one two passing. Aces should have scored a number of goals but it was not to be as matters were stills goalless at half-time.

Celtic broke the deadlock after 57 minutes after a clever ball from Thapelo Morena gave Mhango an easy tap-in right in front of goal. Mhango eventually made it two after stoppage time after some poor defence from Aces at the back.

This was like salt being rubbed into Aces already open wounds.

The steamrolling and undefeated league leaders, Kaizer Chiefs are on the cusp of overtaking their arch rivals Orlando Pirates’ record of the longest unbeaten streak in PSL history. To achieve this they must score a point in their Absa Premiership match against Mpumalanga Black Aces on Saturday, December 20 at the FNB Stadium. This will take them to 20 wins in a row.

Mpumalanga Black Aces will be looking to spoil Chiefs party and upset the Amakhosi with a win to put a stop to their unbeaten league run this season.

This will not be easy by any stretch of the imagination, but Aces have had one of the best away records in the league thus far and has a few ex-Chiefs players, such as current Aces captain, Abia Nale, midfielder Tinashe Nengomasha and Collins Mbesuma, who will feel back at home on Saturday.

Catch all the action on Supersport 4 from 15:30.