AmaZulu’s Thapelo Matlhoko scored the winner against Polokwane City in a shocking turn of events on Saturday afternoon. The match, which saw Rise and Shine dominate for most of the game, ended in a 1-0 defeat for the home team in the Betway Premiership encounter.
Phuti Mohafe’s team looked to be in charge late on and should have scored through Dlamini on 77 minutes. Instead, they found themselves picking the ball from inside the net with just four minutes of play remaining, substitute Thapelo Matlhoko scoring the winner that saw Arthur Zwane’s men moving up to third place.
How the Goal Happened
It was a goal from out of nowhere, AmaZulu fighting a rearguard battle and appearing to be holding on for the point. But they then managed to venture forward and, attacking on the left side, Riaan Hanamub made inroads into the home side’s half before delivering a seemingly innocuous low cross into the box.
The City goalkeeper appeared to have the situation covered as the ball approached his six-yard box, but then Matlhoko pounced and got a touch to the ball, directing it into the net. As explained on the Wikipedia page for association football, a well-executed counter-attack can be a potent tactic in modern football.
Missed Opportunities for Polokwane City
Mohafe’s shock was understandable; after all, it was his team that had dictated matters and came closest to scoring. That opportunity which they had shortly before Usuthu scored the winner should have been better used. A fantastic through-pass from just outside the box dissected the AmaZulu defence and Dlamini did brilliantly to run on to the ball.
Here are the key stats from the match:
- AmaZulu scored 1 goal
- Polokwane City had 0 goals
- The match saw a total of 1 yellow card
The home side had also gotten close in the first half, but Adriaan Matudza’s free kick smashed against the crossbar with Mzimela a beaten man in the Usuthu goal. It just was not Polokwane’s day and at the end they got sucker-punched through a goal scored by the aptly-named Matlhoko, whose surname means ‘pains or trouble’.
The victory saw Usuthu take their points tally to 37 points from 22 matches to go up to third place, while City are stuck in seventh place with 29 points after 21 matches. For more information on the current PSL standings,
