Kickoff (Cape Town)
26 November 2008
Thanda Royal Zulu's weekend loss to Orlando Pirates was compounded with a 1-0 reverse to Santos at the Mpumalanga Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
The KZN side would have been frustrated not to at least have forced a draw in a game in which they were superior in possession and goal attempts.
The first 45 minutes saw the Cape side starting and ending the half well, while Thanda enjoyed a spell of dominance midway through the stanza.
It took The Peoples' Team just five minutes to get on the score-sheet - with Graham King the man to do the damage, sticking the ball in the top corner after an assist by Eleazar Rodgers.
A stunned Thanda did their best to try and level matters after the goal, but Felix Obada and Musa Nyatama failed to hit the target with their shots.
Goalkeeper Francis Chansa ensured that Santos preserved their lead when he made a superb save after 11 minutes to stop Bernard Parker from netting.
Peter Ndlovu then missed with a header, while Parker was off target with a free-kick.
The visitors came back strongly in the final third of the first stanza, with Romano Scott having a couple of chances, both which failed to find the target.
Amabhubesi keeper Aubrey Mathibe then did well to make sure Thanda didn't go two goals down when he saved Bevan Fransch's free-kick.
Just before the half-time break Ahmed Muhammed wasted the chance to level matters when his header failed to bring a save out of Chansa.
The KZN side dominated play after the second half kicked off, but they found the Santos defence in a stubborn mood as they preserved their lead, despite efforts from Parker, Thabiso Rammile, Nyatama and Obada.
When Thanda finally created a clear-cut opportunity, Chansa was again in the way as he pulled of an excellent save to stop Ndlovu from scoring with a close range header after 70 minutes.
The home side seemed to tire towards the end of the game and Santos were able to hold onto their lead for the closing stages of the game without too much bother.
Report by Backpagepix
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