Highbury make up for weekend disappointment

HIGHBURY improved their position on the Eastern Cape ABC Motsepe League log when they beat unpredictable East London outfit Toronto 3-2 at the Gelvandale Stadium on Tuesday night. Highbury moved to third on the log with 42 points from 20 games, trailing the leaders, Queenstown-based sideAngavu Stars, by three points. Home team Highbury went into the clash against Toronto wounded after they were defeated 1-0 by neighbours Real City in a Port Elizabeth derby last weekend. Highbury used their home advantage to overcome Toronto, a team that beat them 2-0 in the first round of the league at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane. The Port Elizabeth semi-professional team opened the scoring sheet in the 30th second of the game through a goal by Andile Njokweni. Mongorosi Methi extended the home side's lead when he cracked the ball into the net in the 15th minute. The visitors scored two goals to level the score after they caught Highbury napping before the half-time break. Highbury came back in the second stanza and applied more pressure on Toronto, forcing them to commit mistakes and fouls. Their plan worked very well when Toronto allowed Abdurachman to score the winning goal for Highbury. Highbury coach Garth Dickinson said the game was played in good spirit because both teams were hungry to collect the maximum points. "Obvious this is a crucial stage of the league's season and we can't afford to drop any points because we have to keep on chasing the top teams until we reach the No1 position. "As much as we respected the on-form Toronto, we did not allow them to do as they pleased on our own turf." Dickinson said he was impressed with the performance of his charges, considering the fact that there were more goals scored in the game than in their previous match. "I'm still disappointed about last week's defeat by City, but the players showed character and determination to win this time. "Our aim is to dethrone the log leaders and claim the No1 spot by the end of the season," he said. - Mthetho Ndoni