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Leonard Ntshangase of Leopards (front), missing the ball, while Keeno Shellar of Santos is on his heels.

Black Leopards maul Santos

 

Black Leopards continued to pave their way to the Absa Premiership League, by beating Santos 1-0 in their National First Division League match at the Thohoyandou Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

The score was not a true reflection of the game, as Lidoda Duvha were all over the visitors from Cape Town. The home side came close to scoring the in the 11th minute. Their playmaker, Leonard Ntshangase, dribbled past two Santos’ defenders in a row and unleashed a ground cutter from the edge of the box. The ball hit the woodwork and landed outside the field of play for a goal kick, much to the disappointment of the team’s fans.   

Realising that their scoring chances were slim, Santos forgot about scoring and abandoned their positions to form a solid wall at the far back. The pattern worked for them as they managed to keep the scoreboard clean, until the referee blew the half time whistle.

Leopards introduced new faces earlier in the second half. They replaced Mwape Musonda and Khayelihle Shozi with Mziwokuthula Zimu and Andiswa Ndawonde respectively. Santos responded by introducing Queen Paulse and Ronaldo Jonkers for Suhayl Alie and Darren Smith in the 59th minute. Leopards enhanced their scoring chances by introducing another striker, Ivan Mahangwahaya, for a defender, Marks Munyai.

The goal which earned Leopards the three important league points came in the 74th minute. Thivhavhudzi Ndou unleashed a half volley from the right corner. A defender of Santos deflected the ball back into his own net while trying to clear. The only player who was warned with a card in the game was Mziwokuthula Zimu. He was reprimanded for faking an injury in the 84th minute.

With their victory, Leopards moved to the second position on the log, 12 points behind the clear favourites for the league title, Thanda Royal Zulu.

Sport - Date: 16 February 2017

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Leopards’ coach, Mr Jeff Losciuto, congratulates the goal scorer, Thivhavhudzi Ndou, after the game.

Leopards’ players celebrate the goal.

 

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Frank Mavhungu

Frank is a Human Resources Manager at the Department of Public Works in Limpopo. He is the longest serving correspondent of the Mirror, having joined us at the end of 1990.  He mainly writes sports reports and resides at Tsianda Village. In 2004, Frank won the National Castle League Award, an award for the best reporter in the SAB league in South Africa.

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