Mutale Vikings in final of Challenge

A goal in the early minutes of the second half was good enough to secure Mutale Vikings a place in the final of the Mulindavhathu Soccer Challenge at the expense of Tshibvumo Young Stars.

The match was played at the Khubvi Benjies grounds on Saturday.

Realizing that it was difficult for them to match their opponents when it came to pace, Vikings abandoned their positions and packed themselves at the back and relied on counter-attacks. It was only after Young Stars had started to show some signs of tiredness that Vikings took the game to them. That forced the Stars to play with their backs against the wall for about 15 minutes.

Young Stars were lucky not to concede an avalanche of goals towards the end of the first half. At that stage, Vikings were doing as they pleased in Stars’ danger area.

The referee, Mr Calvin Nemavhola, warned Rembuluwani Maphagela of Vikings with a card four minutes before the teams adjourned for half time. Maphagela tackled Thabelo Mabila from behind at the edge of the penalty box.

Realizing that their scoring chances were slim, Vikings strengthened their striking force by introducing two new faces early in the last half. Vikings’ replacements were a good cause for Young Stars to press the panic button. They demonstrated this by starting to play defensive football as if they were leading.

They were severely punished for that. In the 59th minute, the boys were separated from the men. Mulavhelesi Munyai, the Vikings' overlapping midfielder, forced his way through the defence of Stars and blasted in a close-range ground cutter. Young Stars did not give in without a fight, though. They initiated some promising moves from behind, but their fighting spirit faded as they approached the opponents’ danger area. They threatened to find the equalizer in the 78th minute, when Hulisani Vhulahani tried his luck from outside the box, but the ball went a little wide.

Date:08 August 2014

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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