Stars too good for Arsenal

The local MMK Administrators derby between Madombidzha Western Stars and Madombidzha Arsenal ended in a 1-0 victory for Stars at Madombidzha on Saturday.

The game was played under protest as Arsenal alleged that two players of Stars, Tommy and Zwanga Mashau, were not properly registered with the team.

Arsenal had nobody to blame for the defeat but themselves. They squandered countless scoring opportunities throughout the game. Their captain, Phumudzo Mafukate, could not live up to the fans’ expectations as a scoring machine. Realizing that life was difficult for him as a striker, Mafukata moved back and played as a midfielder, but that did not assist his team as the opponents kept a watchful eye on him at all times.

Stars started at a fast pace, with the midfielders on fire and distributing telling passes to the strikers. They threatened to score in the early minutes when Maanda Magoro forced his way through the defence of Arsenal before passing to Tommy Mashau. His attempt missed the target by inches.

Arsenal realised that Stars were all over them and abandoned their positions and packed themselves at the far back. James Tshitangoni of Stars scored the only goal in the sixth minute. He unleashed a powerful shot from outside the box and beat the keeper of Arsenal, Emmauel Ngwana.

The second half saw Arsenal pressing hard in search of the equaliser. Lloyd Davhana dribbled pas three defenders in a row but shot wide with only the keeper to beat.

Phumudzo Nemagovhani of Arsenal and Andries Masingi of Stars were cautioned with yellow cards for different infringements.

Sport - Date: 19 January 2017

Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

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