By: Xilombe Mathye
THOHOYANDOU - Black Leopards and Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila played out a 1-1 draw at the Limpopo derby in the DStv Premiership encounter at the Thohoyandou Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
Leopards were forced to settle for a draw against TTM after leading the first half and TTM snatching the glory from Leopards in the second half by settling scores.
The newcomers were looking for a quick start the early minutes of the match but Lidodaduvha’s goalkeeper King Ndlovu singlehandedly denied Tshakhuma the opportunity to put the ball in the box.
Black Leopards were forced to introduce Jonas Mendes as the new goalkeeper in the first half after a dangerous tackle by Tshakhuma’s Mbulelo Lukhubeni that left Ndlovu injured.
On the 34th Tshakhuma almost scored the opening goal of the encounter with the help of Thabo Rakhale but the shot was wide and would have needed a little bit of a curl for it to hit the net.
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Leopards were awarded a penalty kick in the final minutes of the first half after a foul by TTM’s Rakhele to Tebogo Makobela.
Lidodaduvha held a 1-0 halftime lead after Rodrick Kabwe made it count for his side when he found the back of the net.
When the second half resumed both sides stepped up their intensity after what was seen as a sloppy first half.
Vhadau vha Damani were fighting hard and were attack-minded but they were battling to settle the score and find an equaliser but nothing came of their efforts as Mendes prevented the ball from finding the back of the net.
On the 69th minute Rhulani Manzini managed to find an equaliser for Vhadau vha Damani after being awarded a free kick.
In the dying minutes of the match TTM’s deflection almost hit the box but it was not strong enough to go through Mendes.
Leopards will go head to head with Moroka Swallows on Sunday (kickoff 15h30) and will be looking to walk away victorious.