By CHRIS TOTOBELA
Last Saturday, newly-promoted Jacaranda Aces faced off with Friendly City from Alicedale in a closely contested game.
The home side started the game nervously and kept giving away possession in crucial areas of the field. The visitors looked calmer and composed on the ball while the home side once again seemed to rush things.
Aces veteran midfielder Mandla Nikani tried his best to make things work in the middle of the park but was always isolated, and his strikers kept on running away from him, looking for balls into spaces. An early first-half substitution made a difference as the team started playing with purpose and found the net via the boot of Awonke Mantolo, who tapped home to give his side a one-goal lead that they took to the break.
More substitutions were made in the second half, and Aces extended their lead with Athenkosi ‘silent assassin’ Mnyobe finding the net with ease after a one-on-one with the keeper. The visitors pulled one back in the dying seconds of the game. The home side walked away victorious with a 2-1 score, and this was their last home game for 2021.
