Black Leopards back in race

Black Leopards are back in the race for the league championship after collecting six points in their last two matches. Lidoda Duvha first managed to beat Milford FC 2-1 in their Motsepe Foundation Championship League match at Thohoyandou Stadium last Saturday, before they went on to collect league points when they narrowly beat Maritzburg United 1-0 at the same venue on Tuesday afternoon.

Black Leopards were the first to find the net in their game against Milford FC. Their dribbling wizard, Thabana Mabena, was on target with a header, following a square pass from Amukelani Chauke. The visitors from the KZN Province fought back shortly thereafter via Amos Vilakazi. Leopards reclaimed the lead through their Namibian striker, Bethuel Muzeu. He blasted in a rocket after a neat pass from Freddy Mathole.

Tuesday's game against Maritzburg United was played on a slippery pitch after heavy rain had fallen in the area shortly before the 15:30 kick-off time. The home side could have sealed the game in the first half, had it not been for their strikers who seemed to have left their scoring boots at home.

The goal that separated the men from the boys came in the 69^th minute. Bethuel Muzeu gave the ball the final touch, following a scramble within the box. Black Leopards played the last 10 minutes of the game with their hands tied behind their backs. Their right back, Tebogo Makobela, was given a red card for a second bookable offense.

The head coach of Black Leopards, Mr Peter Mponda, was full of praise for his players after the game. He said that the team's performance in their last two games had restored the team's pride after they had lost 0-4 to Baroka FC three weeks ago.

Black Leopards moved to the eighth position on the log standings after the two successive victories.

Date:03 November 2023

By: 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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