League

Hopwood
Spectators: 8462 (Terracing: 6347, Seating: 1946, VIP seats: 169) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Shakeel Machete got the match started through his kick off. Ebrahim Madiya charged in rather forcefully in the 2nd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Ebrahim Madiya the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After 2 played minutes FC Hopwood got a freekick which was hit by Ebrahim Madiya. When the match had gone on for 4 minutes, Shakeel Machete put it in 0-1 from a short distance just to the right of Brandon Nunes. Edries Patel sent away a hard shot on goal in the 14th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Edries Patel received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 15th minute. Brandon Nunes tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Brandon Nunes made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Mpenza Mumede in the 21st minute of play. Sanjay Bartlett was in exellent shape and made a fantastic save when he, in the 28th minute of the match, managed to get hold of the ball after a long shot from Maxwell Nhlapo. In the 29th minute, RUSTENBURG F.C's goalie took a deep sigh of relief after Lindo Thabang fired away a hard shot that went just outside the left post. Lindo Thabang sent away a hard shot on goal in the 31st minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. 35 minutes into the match, FC Hopwood's goal looked a bit too open when Edries Patel came free, but Brandon Nunes reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Brandon Nunes showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Shakeel Machete, who was totally free with the ball in the 38th minute. Patrick Nunes charged in rather forcefully in the 38th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Patrick Nunes the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. The supporters of RUSTENBURG F.C booed when FC Hopwood was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 38 match minutes in a wonderful position. Patrick Nunes didn't get a good kick on the ball. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-1 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Jonas Pretorius to make the kick off. When the match had gone on for 55 minutes, Ebrahim Madiya put it in 1-1 from a short distance just to the right of Sanjay Bartlett. Sanjay Bartlett came out of the goal in the 64th minute to try and stop a shot by FC Hopwood's Lindo Thabang. But to his dismay, Lindo Thabang quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 2-1. Sanjay Bartlett made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Lindo Thabang in the 68th minute of play. After some fancy dribbling in the 70th minute, Jonas Pretorius managed to get in a good position for a shot. FC Hopwood's supporters rose to their feet, but Jonas Pretorius was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Sanjay Bartlett breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Sanjay Bartlett made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Jonas Pretorius in the 72nd minute of play. Freddie Sono took the ball and in the 76 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Brandon Nunes. Brandon Nunes dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 2-2. FC Hopwood's Lindo Thabang got a good chance for a goal in the 86th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. The RUSTENBURG F.C players were relieved to hear the final whistle blow to end the match. The away crowd was happy to see their team win after a very tight game.