Cape Town — An untried Stellenbosch side scored a remarkable come-from-behind 3-2 win over neighbours Cape Town City in the Cape Derby at the Danie Craven Stadium on Friday night.
The visiting City enjoyed a 2-0 at one stage in the first half but they failed to reckon with the fighting spirit of the youngsters in the Stellenbosch ranks as they clawed their way back with three unanswered goals.
The win allowed Stellenbosch to snap a nine-match unbeaten run and the team will move up from 15th place in the relegation zone to a safer 12th place on the standings. City find itself in seventh place.
Stellenbosch ran their socks off in the first half and created a plethora of scoring chances but failed to convert although they managed a goal on the stroke of halftime.
In stark contrast, City, on the back foot for most of the first half had two scoring chances and crucially capitalised each time to enjoy a 2-1 halftime lead.
A fifth-minute set piece provided the platform for an early score when Stellenbosch's defence failed to deal with an in-swinging corner. Stellenbosch keeper Sage Stephens initially cleared but failed to gather the ball and City defender Lorenzo Gordinho deftly slipped the stray ball into the net. Colombian Juan Zapata supplied Gordinho with a feed via a no-look back heel pass which split the Stellenbosch defence.
This setback was the cue for the youthful Stellenbosch side to pull out all the stops and City's defence was under constant pressure as a very competitive contest ensued.
For the next 35 minutes City never managed to take play up to the opposition penalty area and Darren Keet, the City keeper, was kept on his toes, although his defence remained intact as Stellenbosch's poor option-taking allowed him to deal with the danger.
Against the run of play in the dying minutes of the first half, City took a 2-0 lead after Venezuelan Darwin González scored with a deft touch which saw him chip the ball over the on-rushing Stephens.
City's hopes of going into the halftime break with a 2-0 lead evaporated into the balmy Winelands night air when Devin Titus scored with a long-range effort after latching on to a crossfield kick from deep options. With Keet well off his line, Titus' slide-rule shot sizzled wide of Keet to reduce the deficit for the hosts (2-1).
Eight minutes into the second half, the play was held up for a short while Stellenbosch right-back Dean van Rooyen received treatment after a vicious 'studs-up' foul by Cameroonian Fidèle Ambina. Instead of a deserving red card, Luxolo Badi, last season's PSL Referee of the Year' leniently showed him the yellow card.
A few minutes ahead of the hour mark, Titus grabbed his second goal after an assist by Argentinian Junior Mendieta and City immediately responded with a few substitutions to shore up their defence (2-2).
Stellenbosch also made changes and one of these had a telling effect on the match. In the 71st minute, Sinethemba Mngomezulu joined the fray at the expense of Mervin Boji. Twelve minutes later he grabbed the goal that proved to be the eventual matchwinner.
Mngomezulu showed remarkable composure in the striking zone after a pass from Sibongiseni Mthethwa. He landed a textbook shot into the roof of the net (3-2).
IOL Sport