Maraxwe in mayoral semis

Maraxwe Happy Boys secured a place in the semi-final stage of the Thulamela Mayoral Cup Tournament, following their narrow 1-0 victory over Lukalo Hotspurs at the Makhuvha Stadium on Sunday.

Spurs looked too hot in the first 15 minutes of the game, but their original fighting spirit vanished with time. They missed two clear chances at that stage. Dolly Munyai caused an upset in the fourth minute by shooting wide after receiving a pre-cooked pass from Mashudu Mbedzi. Unarine Munyai could not believe his eyes when his half volley hit the side netting and landed outside the field of play for a goal kick soon afterwards.

That was a wake-up call to the players of Happy Boys.

They regrouped from behind, initiating promising moves in the middle of the park. Happy Boys were the first to effect change to their starting 11. They replaced Phuluso Tshiruvhula with Thomani Rabambi towards the end of the first half.

Hotspurs took control of the game in the first 10 minutes of the last half.

They knocked on the Boys’ door time after time, without success. Hotspurs responded by introducing Pfano Nenungwi for Hlulani Chauke. Nenungwi formed a good combination with Dolly Munyai at the forefront, but they had trouble finding their way through the defence of Happy Boys.

The goal through which Happy Boys secured a place in the semi-final stage came via Victor Tshivhase. He hooked in the ball, following a mix-up within the Spurs’ danger area. Happy Boys protected their lead by playing defensive football in the last 20 minutes of the game.

In the other quarter-final match that was played at the same venue earlier that day, Mudaswali United Brothers crushed Tshikonelo United 4-0 to secure a place in the semi-finals.   

Date:19 April 2019

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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