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By Tshepo Ntsoelengoe

Football Journalist


Sundowns Ladies coach happy to have won against ‘tough’ First Touch

Sundowns Ladies had to rely on a last minute goal to get a win against First Touch Ladies.


Playing First Touch Academy in Polokwane is always difficult, says Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies coach Jerry Tshabalala.

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This was after his side were made to sweat in their 2-1 victory against the Limpopo-based team in their Hollywoodbets Super League tie this past weekend.

Sundowns Ladies had to rely on a last minute goal by Boitumelo Rabale in order to claim maximum points, after Lelona Daweti scored early in the first half to put the side in the lead.

Tshabalala believes they could have scored more goals in this tie especially after creating a number of scoring opportunities.

“We always find it difficult when we come to Polokwane, but we created a lot of goal-scoring opportunities in the first half and I believe we should have buried the game as early as possible, in terms of us trying to break them at the back it was pretty difficult,” said Tshabalala.

“As soon as we scored, we knew that we were going to get more goals, but we took the foot off the paddle instead of pressing them higher. I think that’s what made us think it is going to be a walk in the park for us.”

Meanwhile, midfielder Hlogi Mashigo said it was important for Banyana Ba Style to get their last minute goal and they are aiming at winning 10 games in a row.

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“We played so many games during the week (leading to the First Touch game), Wednesday we played against a boys team, Saturday we played the Lesotho national team. The goal we got in the last 10 minutes we had to score it because we are not used to losing or drawing especially with the mentality we have this season and the coach wants to win 10 games in a row,” said the midfielder.

The win against First Touch put Sundowns Ladies back to the top of the Super League standings, with the Brazilians on nine points after three games.

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