Pic: Courtesy of (MTNFootball)
By Obakeng Maje
USSA looks to be on course to defend their SAB Under-21 Regional League Championships title they won last year.
They made their intentions clear on Day Three when they registered their third win of the tournament held at the Nelspruit Rugby Stadium on Wednesday, 13 June 2012.
USSA defeated Northern Cape by one goal to nil (1-0) in the last match of the day – Kagiso Tshungu’s strike in the 64 th minute that was deflected by Ariano van Staden into his own net.
The victory ensured USSA stay atop of Group B with nine points and a spot in the semi-finals beckoning.
Kaizer Chiefs’ Football Manager Bobby Motaung and the club’s assistant coach Ace Khuse were among the crowd.
USSA’s Lebogang Phetlhu was given his marching orders, but Vuyisile Horn failed to take advantage and shot wide from the penalty spot.
In another match, Western Cape came from two goals down to register an unexpected two-all (2-2) draw with the more-fancied KwaZulu Natal outfit that had the fans in awe with their great performance.
Nduduzo Sibiya was once again at the heart of KZN’s attack spraying passes with ease. Nkosingiphile Sondezi also continued to do what he does best – scoring goals – as he netted the opener for KZN just two minutes before halftime.
Mpumelelo Sithole made it two nil in the 54 th minute – a goal many thought was enough to secure victory, but Western Cape had other ideas.
Myana Holland pulled one back with a wonderful strike in the 63 rd minute before finding the equaliser just two minutes later.
Limpopo overcame hosts Mpumalanga by two goals to one (2-1) to leave Group A wide open. The two sides are now just one point behind leaders KZN who have seven points.
Mpumalanga took the lead 15 minutes into the match through a S’busiso Mahamba goal much to the delight of the home crowd. That excitement was however short-lived thanks to a superb strike outside the box from Limpopo captain Tommy Mandlazi.
He was not done however.
He returned to help his side to three points with his second goal in the 76 th minute, ensuring an interesting finale to Group B.
Eastern Cape slumped to their second consecutive defeat, going down two-nil (2-0) to Free State who registered their first win in the tournament after two failed attempts. The two goals came from Neels Godfrey in the first half.
Day Four on Thursday promises to be an interesting one with spots in the semi-finals up for grabs.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the last four.
Full Scores of Day Three
Mpumalanga 1 2 Limpopo
Western Cape 2 2 KwaZulu Natal
Free State 2 0 Eastern Cape
Northern Cape 0 1 USSA
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