Mbahe FC booked a place in the next stage of the Altech Autopage KO Competition by beating Mukula Avalon 1-0 at the FNB Makwarela Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The game was played under protest. Avalon lodged a protest with the referee before the first whistle. In the protest Avalon alleged that three players of Mbahe were not properly registered with the team.

The keeper of Mbahe, Pascal Mpondi, was a star to watch in the game. He denied Avalon several obvious goals. In the first instance he executed a brilliant save after Walter Nelushi unleashed from the edge of the box. At that stage the game was eleven minutes old. As if that was not good enough to impress the fans, Mpondi did it again when palming Shonani Munyai’s volley away for a corner kick soon afterwards.

The goal which separated the boys from the men came in the 67th minute. Takalani Ramagwa blasted in a rocket after a scramble within the box. Realizing that victory was almost certain, Mbahe started to use delaying tactics. Their defender, Hosiah Ranwedzi, was reprimanded with a card for wasting time.

Avalon pushed hard in the last 15 minutes in their desperate search for the equaliser, but they could not find their way through the defence of Mbahe.