Marumo Gallants FC ended their eight-game winless run in the DStv Premiership with a vital 2-0 win over Sekhukhune United on Saturday night. The two teams faced each other at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, with Gallants coming out on top and securing their first win in nine matches.
Gallants made three changes from the side that lost against Orlando Pirates, as Ivorian attacker Cheick Soumaro was given his first start along with recalls for Lesiba Nku and Letsie Koapeng. Sekhukhune, meanwhile, handed new signing Kamohelo Mokotjo his debut in the line-up and were also boosted by the return of Linda Mntambo as changes from their loss against Mamelodi Sundowns.
RESULT
Marumo 2-0 Sekhukhune DStvPrem FARPost pic.twitter.com/yzgnCGBBLy
— FARPost_ZA (@FARPostZA) February 4, 2023
The game lacked spark in the opening exchanges and the pitch literally got dark with eight minutes on the clock after the floodlights were affected by load-shedding. After a suspension of about 15 minutes, the match resumed and suddenly clear-cut chances started falling particularly for Gallants, as Nku ballooned a strike, with only goalkeeper Badra Ali Sangare to beat, over the crossbar from close-range.
Bahlabane Ba Ntwa revelled on their momentum and Lucky Mohomi finally broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark with a well executed free-kick that curled around the wall and sneaked in high at the near post. Sekhukhune had no choice but to come out of their defensive rear-guard and looked to reply but they had not built enough blocks to carve out openings, as the hosts went to the interval with a narrow lead.
Mdaka’s charges shaded the early exchanges of the second stanza and needing inspiration going forward, around the hour-mark, Brandon Truter made a double attacking changes as Tashreeq Morris and Abednigo Mosiatlhaga were introduced. However, Sekhukhune continued to play second fiddle as Koapeng doubled the lead for Gallants shortly after that with a wonder strike from the edge of the box that went in off the post.
With Babina Noko struggling to combine, Nku had a golden chance to end the game as a contest in the last 18 minutes after cutting in the box to have a clear sight of goal but he curled his shot away from the top corner. Gallants slowed down the tempo of the game in the closing stages, as Sekhukhune could not increase the urgency of their attacks and held on to their first win in nine matches that reduced the deficit at the bottom of the log to three points from safety.
