Modimolle Aces right into Hotspurs’ hotpot

GIYANI Hotspurs are inching closer to the top of the Safa Second Division League after winning 3-1 against Modimolle Aces in a match played at Giyani Stadium on Saturday.

Depending on how the other teams will play, the win could see Hotspurs push through from position three, which they were in before the Saturday match to position two in the much-contested league.

Hotspurs started the match on a high note and could have opened the scoring as early as the fifth minute, but missed several chances served to them by the visitors, who looked like they were struggling to keep it together.

This, according to the owner of Modimolle Aces, Lolo Selamolela, was due to the formation that they were using in the first half. “We changed from 4-5-1 to 3-5-2 formation, but unfortunately we were too late because Hotspurs had already scored two goals against us,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hotspurs have its goalkeeper, Shikombelo Nghonyama to thank for frustrating most of the attempts by Modimolle Aces’ strikers who constantly breached their fragile defence in their attempts to level the scores during the second half.

Asked about the sudden weakness at Hotspurs’ side during the last minutes of the second half, their coach Fannie Bilankulu attributed it to the substitution of their captain, Oska “Page” Mathebula, who picked an injury during the match.

“Page’s substitution spoiled the whole game; we started to panic and lost touch. This was more so because his substitute never had a chance of a full-time game so he still had to adapt,” he said.

Meanwhile for Hotspurs, this was the sixth win in seven matches that they have played so far since the beginning of the year. Thanks to their new coach Bilankulu, who looks determined to steer the Hotspurs ship through to the National First Division League, a dream that the players and Hotspurs’ fans in Giyani have been hoping to achieve for some time now.