With former eThekwini City marksman Raoul Swartbooi back in the squad, the Lockdowners “A” side made it 2 out of 2 with a hard fought 5-4 victory over Westend United, to climb to fourth position in the SAFA Tongaat ICC Over 35 Futsal League.
The United squad made up of four police officers, two prosecutors and two educators showed much determination for the three points at stake but were bested by the Lockdowners. The captain of the Westend United Over 35 Team, Clinton Odayar said the Lockdowners A-team played with vigour and put on a good performance.
He said: “Westend showed outstanding team spirit and movement with the ball. Each player put in a 100% with the intention being to enjoy futsal (indoor soccer). The fitness level and ball skills of the players has increased since the start of the season. The team now has consistency and plays as a unit, unfortunately very poor refereeing decisions had to dictate the final score.”
In the top of the table clash between Maidstone FC and Belchester, Belchester moved six points clear after defeating Maidstone 7-3. Early in the encounter, both teams were very cautious and took time to measure each other.
Both teams found the back of the net making the score 1-1, however just before half time Belchester made a tactical change which swung the match around with 3 unanswered goals going into the break 4-1 up.
Maidstone pulled one back immediately after kick-off making it 4-2. Midway through second half Belchester were awarded a penalty. Julian Pillay stepped up for the men in blue forcing Maidstone keeper Mario Pillay into a brilliant save, however the Belchester man scored off the rebound. Match ended as 7-3 to Belchester.
Elsewhere, Bushy Arbee’s Railways moved into joint second spot with a game in hand after a close encounter against Tongaat Falcons. Railways showed much determination to bag the three points scoring in the dying minutes off the match, winning 6-5.
Eddy Khan, convener of the Over 35 structure, urged fans to come in their numbers in support of the game and said the caliber of players in the league will certainly provide entertainment for all.
Sunday’s fixtures will see Lockdowners “A” vs Railways, Belchester Ssc vs ICC, Westend Utd vs Just Friends, Lockdowners “B” vs Tongaat Falcons, Belvedere vs Lockdowners “A”, Maidstone vs Railways.
For more information please contact Vice President of SAFA Tongaat and Chairperson of Futsal, Tovey Ramnarain on 084 657 0214 or via email on toveyramnarain@gmail.com.
