Polokwane City crush Spurs in battle of Premiership returnees
Oswin Appollis of Polokwane City is challenged by Cape Town Spurs defender Michael Morton during DStv Premiership game at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane yesterday
Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
SPORT
Polokwane City may have not made statement signings to bolster their squad in their return to the DStv Premiership, but they are so far punching above their weight.
With a squad of mostly untested and unknown players, Rise and Shine started with two wins and a defeat from their opening three matches.
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One of those untested players is 21-year-old playmaker Oswin Appollis, who scored a brace against Cape Town Spurs at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane yesterday.
Striker Douglas Mapfumo also scored in the 3-1 win in the battle of the newly promoted sides.
He and Appollis are the only players in the City starting lineup with previous Premiership experience.
A throw in from left-back Nkwe Tlou was knocked down by Mapfumo to Appollis, who collected and controlled the ball with his first touch before unleashing a rocket of a shot that Spurs goalkeeper Zama Dlamini could only watch fly past him after just 15 minutes.
With 30 minutes remaining, Mapfumo turned from provider to goal scorer as the Zimbabwean striker headed City into a 2-0 lead from where the visitors from Cape Town never recovered.
Substitute Stevens Goovadia’s cross connected sweetly with Mafpumo’s header.
Appollis completed his brace in the 78th minute to punish some horrendous defending from the Spurs backline.
Another substitute Khaya Mfecane scored the consolation goal two minutes later to make it 3-1 but it was too little too late for Spurs.
Appollis appears to be coming off age with each passing season.
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He scored four goals playing for Pretoria Callies in the National First Division last season, a form good enough for a midfielder to attract City’s attention.
Unlike City, Spurs has a few matured heads who have made rounds in the premier division; the likes of Nazeer Allie, Siyanda Msani, Michael Morton and Keagan Buchanan. With the win, City moved up to third on the premiership log with six points from a possible nine.
Pressure is mounting on Spurs head coach Shaun Bartlett as the Cape club remains rooted at the bottom on zero points after their defeats away to TS Galaxy and at home to Sekhukhune United.
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Mfecane’s goal was the first for coach Shaun Bartlett’s team.
Spurs will be at home to Chippa United at Athlone Stadium in their next match on Friday.
City will next host champions Mamelodi Sundowns at the same venue on August 30.
In other premiership matches this weekend, SuperSport United beat Cape Town City 1-0 in Pretoria on Friday, to remain second behind Sundowns on the log.
SuperSport has yet to concede a goal in three matches so far.
Also on Friday, Stellenbosch came from a goal down to beat Royal AM at Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg.
Royal have one point after starting with two defeats and a draw. Chippa United hosted Sundowns in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, while AmaZulu were at home to Richards Bay in the KwaZulu-Natal derby last night.
But the big match of the weekend is at Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga this afternoon as Kaizer Chiefs will be chasing for their first league win against TS Galaxy.
Orlando Pirates moved a step closer to the group stages of the CAF Champions League after a hard fought 1-0 over Comoros’ Djabal in the first leg
Pirates will be looking for a repeat of their one-sided victory a decade ago as they meet Djabal from the tiny Comoros Islands again in the opening round of the African Champions League.
The Buccaneers will host the side from the small Indian Ocean Island at Orlando Stadium on Friday.
Pirates are eager to return to the group stages for the first time since 2020.
