The players of Gogobole Home Defenders played their hearts out when they beat Tshiozwi Mates 2-0 in a Limpopo Dairy match played at the Tshiozwi grounds on Saturday.
Mates were only good at the far back and their midfielders hesitated for too long and did not release the ball on time to the goal poachers. They put their own defenders under tremendous pressure. The boys from Gogobole initiated some promising moves from the centre of the pitch but were denied a number of scoring opportunities by the defence of their opponents.
Although one of their key midfielders, Mulalo Lethole, was reprimanded with a card in the 25th minute, Defenders did not lose their fighting spirit. They continued to pressure their opponents by creating promising moves from the centre of the pitch.
Things turned against Mates in the 40th minute, when the defenders made a blunder and Mulalo Lethole scored his team's first goal. Mates were the first to introduce a new face to their starting line-up. They replaced Phumudzo Lukhwareni with Makonde Thonga three minutes before the end of the first half.
Defenders scored another goal in the 72nd minute. Tshimangadzo Phadziri went loose from the right corner and blasted in a rocket. Defenders later replaced Thabelo Tharini with Tendani Muraga in a bid to strengthen their midfield. Tharini formed a deadly combination with Phadziri.
The captain of Defenders, Mulalo Lethole, was redcarded for a second bookable offence, but Mates failed to capitalised on the numerical advantage.