Black Leopards registered their sixth consecutive victory when they beat Vasco da Gama 1-0 in their NFD match at the Thohoyandou Stadium on Saturday.

Realizing that their scoring chances were slim, Black Leopards effected the first change to their starting lineup after only nine minutes. Their new signee, Jonathan King, gave way to the team’s scoring machine, Ruggert Nyundu.

The visitors from Cape Town tried to frustrate their opponents by demonstrating their rough skills. The referee did not allow them to go on with their mischief as he soon reprimanded two of them with yellow cards for different infringements. Samuel Julies was booked for a late tackle on Harry Nyirenda, while Rowel Matthew’s obstructed Sanele Mkhize.

Vasco did not lose their fighting spirit, despite the two yellow cards. They continued to fight collectively, giving the Leopards’ defenders no time to breathe. The home side threatened to score in the 34th minute. Their overlapping left back, Shimi Radebe, won a loose ball from the centre of the pitch and ran to the left corner, from where he dished a square pass. As if they were spectators, the Leopards strikers watched as the ball went past the penalty area to the right corner.

No goal was seen during the first half. Vasco were reduced to 10 men three minutes into the last half. Moosa Jacobs was given his marching orders for using abusive words towards the assistant referee. Leopards replaced Sanele Mkhize and Samuel Tefu with Ivan Mahangwahaya and Morgan Shivambu respectively. Rugger Nyundu was tackled from behind within the box in the 74th minute and it was a clear penalty for Lidoda duvha. Nyundu converted from the white spot to give his side a 1-0 victory.