Old Boys conquer Elsburg

On Saturday, Springs Old Boys’ senior premier soccer side continued their good form and bagged another three points for a win against Elsburg.

Old Boys are still top of the league’s log with a nine point lead.

The match against Elsburg had a slow build up, with both teams trying to capitalise on their through passes and maintain possession in their opponents’ half.

The game seemed to be resurrected when Eugene Selepe went in for a shot at goal which went over the cross bar and Old Boys kept on the pressure against Elsburg by sprinting their way into the Elsburg half.

The barrage of attack proved to be Elsburg’s down fall with top goal scorer of the league, Michael John Reyneke, dribbling the ball just outside the Elsburg penalty box, assisted on his left by Dean Hayden.

A tackle from an Elsburg defence left Dean finishing of the combination with a goal down the right side of the Elsburg goalkeeper. Old Boys were motoring ahead at 1-0.

After the dust settled in the Elsburg half, play continued with each team giving and taking possession back and forth.

Elsburg had a shot at goal during the first half that Lance Hayden quickly snuffed out with his acrobatic form of goal keeping.

Toward the end of the first half, the Old Boys attack grew stronger, and left Elsburg playing a defensive game.

Good passing and sensible risk taking from Old Boys allowed them to score the second goal of the match, again from Dean, pushing their lead to 2-0.

The seconds wound down to a break and the end of the first half.

With the start of the second half, both teams bounced back with better momentum and Elsburg struck first to pull one back for their side.

The goal was scored by a combination of quick passes from Elsburg leaving the Old Boys defence shaky and caught unaware.

Elsburg were set to equalise, provided they could consistently keep possession in the Old Boys half and penalty box.

Half way into the second half Elsburg attempted a shot at goal but went wide of the posts.

Both teams kept retaining possession but couldn’t capitalise on their passing combinations to move the ball forward.

With 15 minutes left to play both teams kept penetrating their opponent’s defences.

Whether it was luck or planned genius, Bruce Stones from Old Boys scored his team’s third goal.

Old Boys were on the offensive when Stones received the ball from a through pass.

Elsburg’s defence was wide open, giving Bruce the opportunity to lob the ball over the Elsburg goalkeeper, who tried to leap in the air for a save, but the ball crashed into the left corner of the back of the net.

Elsburg tried to regroup with some clever passing but kept concentrating the ball in the middle of the field, and their back passes were not helping.

In the dying minutes of the match Elsburg tried to push forward with a throw in and Old Boys’ offensive mid-field denied them mobility with their through passes.

The match ended 3-1 to OId Boys, another win after beating their other opponents, Modderfontein FC 3-1 the previous week.

With the league slowly winding down, Springs Old Boy’s premier senior side is on course to win the league.