THOHOYANDOU – Highlandspark Silver Stars will not take part in the next stages of the prestigious Absa Cup KO competition. Jomo Cosmos booted them out of the competition. The former won the match with a 1-2 margin at the Thohoyandou Stadium on Saturday.

The game was characterised by rough tackles with the young Stars players being the victims. The referee, Daniel Bennet, calmed the situation by flashing three yellow cards to key players of Cosmos, Innocent Ntsume, Manuel Bucuane and Lucky Mhlate.

Silver Stars suffered a big blow when their marksman, Jan Motoung sustained an injury in the 20th minute. He was replaced with Keketso Mmotong. The scoreboard was still blank at half time despite the fact that both sides had a number of chances in the first stanza. The home side looked more relaxed in the second half.

Cosmos scored their opening goal in the 49th minute. Russel Mwafulirwa received a neat pass from Lucky Mhlate and beat the Stars' keeper, Johannes Diale. The only Silver Stars player who was booked for rough tackle was Risimati Mchabe who obstructed Russel Mwafulirwa outside the penalty area. Manuel Bucuane caused an upset when he beat the Stars' keeper and shot wide with the goalmouth wide open.

Silver Stars introduced Jabulani Nkosi for Albert Mushadu in the 70th minute. Nkosi's presence was felt when he scored the equalising goal for Stars after a scramble within the Cosmos box. Manuel Bucuane scored the winning goal for Cosmos nine minutes towards the end of the game.