In their SAB League match that was played at the Lufule grounds on Sunday, United Artists collected three points at the expense of the visitors, Makhitha Oscar Stars, following their 2-0 victory.

The home side did not wait for the opponents to knock on their door; instead, they took the game to them from the first whistle. Phumudzo Tseisi of Stars was the first player to go into the referee’s book. His sin was protesting against the referee’s decision.

Artists missed two clear chances in the opening minutes. Firstly, their dribbling wizard, Vuwani Masakona, received a beautiful pass from Tony Mudzungwane and shot wide from outside the box. Tony Mudzungwane missed a fortune a little later, when he hesitated for too long to unleash, until he lost possession.

That did not kill their original fighting spirit as they continued to play like a team. Artists broke the ice in the 26th minute. Tony Mudzungwane caught the Stars’ keeper, Lufuno Maseda, napping and blasted in a rocket from the edge of the box to give his side a 1-0 lead. The Stars threatened to score towards the end of the first half. The Artists’ defence, which was marshaled by Jeffrey Mungoni and Evans Mudau, denied them two obvious goals.

Tony Mudzungwane of Artists was also cautioned after it was realized that he was applying time-wasting tactics. The keeper of Stars caused an upset in the 65th minute when he mishandled a loose ball. The overlapping defender of Artists, Jeffrey Mungoni, capitalized on the mistake and scored easily.

United Artists were awarded a penalty in the 78th minute. A defender of Stars handled the ball in an attempt to clear it. Jeffrey Mungoni shot straight to the stranded keeper, who palmed the ball away for a corner kick. Oscar Stars pushed hard in their search for goals in the dying minutes, but it was already too late for them.