‘Pig-headed’ players let Baroka down

Following their 2-1 victory over Baroka FC in their Absa Premiership League match at Polokwane’s Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday, Black Leopards are now lying in the 12^th position on the log with 16 points accumulated from 15 outings.

As for the coach of Lidoda Duvha, Mr Dylan Kerr, the victory was a maintenance of his impressive track record with the Thohoyandou side. Leopards collected 7 points from the three matches the team played under the guidance of the Englishman.

His first match in the team’s hot seat was against Maritzburg United, with whom they played to a 1-1 draw at the Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg.

He came back home to give the team’s fans a memorable Christmas gift in the form of three league points against Amazulu FC. Leopards beat the team from KZN 3-1.

Kerr attributed the team’s success to the fact that the players did not take time to acclimatize with his coaching philosophy. “Who could have thought that the team will be where it is today a month ago?” asked Kerr. Leopards were languishing at the bottom on the log with 9 points when the 51-year-old mentor took over from Mr Joel Masutha early last month.

On the other hand, Baroka dropped to the 13^th spot on the log, following the defeat. Baroka’s Zambian coach, Mr Wedson Nyirenda, could not hide his disappointment during an interview after the game.

He blamed the players for allowing Black Leopards to do as they pleased in the middle of the park. “We were let down by the players who are pig-headed”, he said. He revealed that most of the players who played against Black Leopards will not be part of the team that will play against Cape Town City at the Cape Town Stadium tomorrow evening.

Mwape Musonda and Tshwarelo Bereng scored for Black Leopards in the 30^th and 36^th minute respectively, while Baroka’s solitary goal came via Hassan Banda in the 67^th minute. The Leopards’ midfielder, Khuliso Mudau, was presented with a trophy after the game. He was nominated Man of the match.

Sport - Date: 10 January 2019

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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