Pefile on target to clinch victory for Stars

A LATE goal from Simthembile Pefile secured a win for Morning Stars over Real City in an ABC Motsepe derby at the NU2 Motherwell Stadium on Saturday.

Before the clash, Stars’ manager Siyabulela Isaac said his team needed the three points as they were targeting to finish in the top 10 in the first half of the league.

The first stanza of the game did not deliver as both teams failed to put the ball into the net.

It was Morning Stars who showed more hunger for goals during the second. As a result, the Motherwell side saw themselves defending with all they could muster.

City goalkeeper Bulelani Poni was put under pressure as the Kwazakhele side found it easy to penetrate the host’s non-existent backline.

After multiple attempts and with five minutes remaining, Pefile found the target.

A disappointed Real City coach Bonke Namba said his players went to sleep during the game. “The boys were not in the game during the first half and a quarter of the second. They only came back the last 25 minutes. We need to improve on our marking because it was very poor.

“We need to collect ourselves and put this game behind us and focus on our next fixture,” Namba said.

Meanwhile, in another Bay derby, which was played in Koukamma on Friday night, Highbury collected all three points after a close 2-1 win over Subs.

In a very competitive game where both teams were gunning for victory, Highbury’s Diwis Lewis opened the scoring just 15 minutes into the game.

In the second half, Abduragmaan Moodien extended the lead to 2-0. A late goal from the visitors brought the score to 2-1.

“The game was played in good spirit. We lost concentration in the last minutes of the game which saw the opponents scoring,” Highbury head coach Garth Dickinson said.

“Going forward we need to keep momentum by winning every game as we can’t afford losses.”

-Vuyokazi Nkanjeni