Leopards let Amazulu off the hook

Lesedi Kapinga of Leopards (right) and Sibusiso Mabiliso of Amazulu chase the ball.

Leopards let Amazulu off the hook

Amazulu FC were lucky to go back to Durban with a point in hand, following their goalless draw with Black Leopards in their Absa Premiership League match at the Thohoyandou Stadium last Saturday.

Black Leopards, who were in the ninth position on the log before their match against Amazulu, dropped one step down, following the unimpressive home result. The Thohoyandou side are now in the 10^th spot with 16 points accumulated from 13 matches.

The single point they deposited into their league account was good enough to take Amazulu a step up from the bottom of the log. Amazulu are in the second-last position with 13 points, one on top of the tail-enders, Stellenbosch FC.

Asked to comment about the game shortly after the last whistle, Mr Luc Eymael, the head coach of Black Leopards, said his players had done everything according to his instructions. He stated that they could have easily won the match if it were not for the Amazulu keeper, Niel Boshoff, who denied them numerous sure goals. Boshoff, who was nominated Man of the Match, was a marvel to watch throughout the game, frustrating the Leopards’ strikers with his acrobatic goalkeeping.

Eymael reiterated the fact that he was satisfied with the team’s performance although they could not find the net. His counterpart in the Amazulu camp, Mr Jozef Vukusic, summarized the whole game as a “mission accomplished”.

He said that he had told his players before the game that it would be difficult for them to beat Black Leopards on their home soil. “My instructions to them were clear: Don’t allow Black Leopards to score, as it would be difficult for us to fight back,” said Mr Vukusic.

He stressed the fact that he was happy to go back to Durban with a point in hand, because Lidoda Duvha had created numerous scoring opportunities throughout the game.

The Man of the Match, Amazulu’s keeper, Niel Boshoff, holds on to the ball after Mwape Musonda’s close-range attempt.

Date:12 December 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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