Jomo Young Stars fought hard to earn a 1-0 victory over Muila FC in their semifinal of the Comrade Mdaka tournament at the Bokisi grounds on Saturday.
Muila had nobody else to blame for the defeat but themselves. They squandered countless scoring opportunities throughout the game. Their captain, Given Makwala, could not live up to the fans' expectations as a scoring machine as he was tightly marked.
Realizing that life was difficult for him as a striker, Makwala moved back and played as a midfielder, but that did not assist his team as the opponents kept a watchful eye on him at all times. The keeper of Young Stars, Lucky Maluleke, made his presence felt in the 19th minute. Maluleke did the unexpected by braving Briton Machete's close-range volley and palmed the ball away for a corner kick.
The game turned lukewarm for about 15 minutes as the teams were studying each other. Muila started to launch more attacks from the middle of the park soon afterwards. Thabang Makondo of Young Stars was booked for a late tackle on Lotters Rambau three minutes before the half-time whistle. The second half saw Muila commit more blunders. Their right winger, Quite Phathudi, caused an upset in the 50th minute. He unleashed aimlessly from inside the box instead of relaxing on the ball and picking the spot.
Both sides effected some changes to their starting lineups in the last half. Muila replaced Briton Machete and Sello Molautsi with Tshifhiwa Mphephu and Nicolas Maake respectively in the 59th minute.
Jomo Young Stars responded by introducing Themba Mabasa and Phanuel Mbungele for Given Tafula and Ntsako Mabasa respectively. Chambrey Masethe of Muila was also warned with a card for dangerous play on Evidence Masia in the 70th minute. Jomo's all-important goal came in the 84th minute. Rudolph Mhlongo blasted in a rocket from inside the box.