Cape Town — The Cote d'Ivoire striker Djakaridja Traoré scored all the goals in the match as he steered TS Galaxy to a 2-1 come-from-behind 2-1 win over Maritzburg United in a DStv Premiership match at the Harry Gwala Stadium on Friday night.
Seven minutes ahead of the halftime break, Traoré scored an own goal after he deflected Keagan Ritchie's well-taken free-kick into his own goal and the 'Team of Choice' enjoyed a fortuitous 1-0 lead.
Traoré, the lone striker in the side's unorthodox 4-2-3-1 playing pattern, made amends for this lapse with a brace later to ensure the 'Rockets' came away with both points in this relegation six-pointer.
Two minutes after the own goal, midfielder Lindokuhle Mbatha sparked a fightback and supplied an assist for Traoré to level matters. The teams were level pegging as they returned to the dressing rooms for the halftime break.
Mbatha was one of the stars for Galaxy on their recent four-match tour of Turkey. The club also has a training camp in Antalya, the largest Turkish city on the Mediterranean coast.
After the break, Traoré continued to create problems for the Team of Choice's defence as they struggled to contain the 24-year-old talented marksman.
In the 77th minute, Galaxy took the lead for the first time in the match after Traore hit the back of the net to make it 2-1 after some good work by attacking midfielder Kamogelo Sebelebele.
New Maritzburg coach Fadlu Davids reacted by introducing attackers Reagan van der Ross and Friday Samu in the 82nd minute. However, the visitors stood firm at the back and emerged as 2-1 winners.
With this win, the Rockets moved out of the red zone. They moved from 12th position to ninth on the standings with 16 points.
Maritzburg remained rooted at the bottom of the standings with 11 points, and unless they can turn their season around, they are staring relegation in the face.
IOL Sport