Tshambobvu Junior Aces secured a place in the quarterfinal stage of the Petrus Madzuhe Soccer Tournament by beating Thohoyandou Development 3-0 in their opening match at the Maranzhe grounds on Sunday afternoon.

The score was not a true reflection of the game as Development matched the hosts pound for pound in all departments. Development committed suicide by leaving the Aces’ killer striker, Thembuluwo Manyaga, unmarked most of the time. Although it became clear from the onset that Manyaga would give them a tough time, Development took things for granted and assigned their naive right back, Thivhulawi Mavhungu, to contain Manyaga.

Before long, Manyaga came close to scoring. This after he had received a neat pass from his brother, Talifhani, and unleashed a half volley. The ball hit the side net for a goal kick. Thembuluwo’s time came in the 26^th minute. He broke loose from the right corner and advanced a few steps forward before beating the keeper with a ground cutter.

The score remained unchanged until the end of the first half, despite the fact that Development created numerous scoring chances at that stage. Development strengthened their midfield by introducing Emmanuel Murwamadala for Juliet Phaswana early in the last half.

Murwamadala was a thorn in the flesh to the defence of Aces because of his dribbling skills. Junior Aces were awarded a penalty in the 59^th minute. Rolivhuwa Ratshitanda of Aces was brought down within the box and the referee was quick to point at the white spot. Ndaedzo Madula converted. A defender of Development, Zwivhuya Neluheni, deflected the ball back into his own net to cause an own goal in the 78^th minute to bring the final score to 3-0.