United Artists are ready to bury Musina United alive

By Frank Mavhungu

Apart from Mpheni Home Defenders, who will be engaged in their Nedbank Cup Competition campaign, the rest of the teams affiliated to the Limpopo Stream of the ABC Motsepe League will be busy with their league activities this weekend.

After beating Vondwe XI Bullets 1-0 at the Thohoyandou Stadium last Friday afternoon, United Artists have another mountain to climb this weekend. They will battle for league points with Musina United at the Makhuvha Stadium on Saturday. While United Artists will be fighting it with the aim of protecting the image of the team, the matter will be one of life and

Emmanuel FC managed to enhance their chances of escaping the relegation axe at the end of the season when they beat Mikhado FC 2-0 in their ABC Motsepe League match that was played at the Malamulele Stadium last Saturday.

The game started 45 minutes later than the scheduled 15:00 kick-off time. At that stage, the officials from the two camps were still arguing over the legitimacy of the registration of some of the players. Proceedings could only commence after the officials of Mikhado agreed to remove some of the players from the team sheet and replace them with new ones. The removal of some of the players evidently affected the technical team’s game plan. Mikhado were down and out throughout the first half. They were lucky not to concede more than five goals during the first 45 minutes of the game.

Emmanuel capitalised on the setback and scored two goals within the space of 15 minutes. Their opening goal came in the 14th minute. Their lethal striker, Douglas Maluleke, dribbled past two defenders before beating the keeper with a ground cutter.

As if they were leading, Mikhado then abandoned their positions and started to play defensive football. They were severely punished for that. The home side increased the tally towards the end of the first half. Nndanduleni Ndou was on target with a long-range half volley to bring the half-time score to 2-0.

Mikhado were controlling the game in the second half, but they found penetrating the defence of Emmanuel difficult. The game came to a halt for about eight minutes in the 60th minute. This after the officials of Mikhado started to accuse the match officials of taking sides. The situation returned to normal after the referee, Mr Mulalo Mubva, gave red cards to two officials of the club, including the chairman, Mr Itani Musandiwa.

The home side were playing defensive football in the last 20 minutes of the game to defend their two goals.

Maindis must beat Wizards to restore pride

By Frank Mavhungu

Things are quickly moving from bad to worse in the camp of Maindis Ladies FC. The team lost all four of the Hollywoodbets Super League matches they have played to date. Their latest defeat was a 0-4 drubbing at the hands of Durban Ladies at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane last Saturday.

Apart from the fact that they are still to deposit a point into their league account, Maindis managed to score only one goal in the four games they have played. Maindis will travel to Emalahleni on Saturday.

Their match against Coal City Wizards will be played at the Puma Rugby Stadium. Not only will a win against City Wizards enhance the team’s chances of escaping the relegation axe at the end of the season, but it will be a step in the right direction towards the restoration of the team’s lost pride.

City Wizards and Maindis are almost in a similar situation. The Mpumalanga side are also battling to register a victory this season. Their best result was a 1-1 draw with Thunderbirds Ladies at the same venue on Saturday, 25 February.

Maindis have lost several players who were regulars death for Musina United.

Artists moved out of the relegation zone after beating Vondwe XI Bullets last Friday. On the other hand, Musina must win the match at all costs to be safe regarding relegation. Should they fail to collect the maximum points on Saturday, Musina will need only one point in their last fixture against Mikhado FC.

Giyani Happy Boys will host Emmanuel FC at the Xikukwani Stadium outside Giyani. Munaca FC will play against Vondwe XI Bullets at the Tshifudi Stadium.

The other fixtures are: Ditlou FC vs City Motors, Tubatse United vs Phinnet City, The Dolphins FC vs PJ Stars and Tzaneen United vs Mighty FC.