Some might call it an upset while others will say it was on the cards…
Whichever way, Grassy Park United have signalled their intentions of winning Stream B of the ABC Motsepe League with a resounding 3-1 victory over the Maties FC at a windy Lentulus Sportfield on Saturday afternoon.
A brace via Jarred Hendricks and another from Waseem George, sealed the points for coach Mangaliso “Shakes” Ntombana’s Grassy Park outfit.
It was a game the Maties’ coach Desmond Crowie would want to forget as it was also dubbed as the ‘decider’ in this stream.
Taking nothing away from the GP’s victory, the home side squandered numerous chances and looked lacklustrer in the final third while the visitors made the most of their chances punishing the home side and deservedly so.
The Maties actually struck first when Ronaldinho Johnson slotted home a penalty early in the first half and matters looked to go according to plan for the Stellenbosch-based outfit.
GP United kept plugging away and that allowed Hendricks to level matters to make the score 1-1 at halftime.
Crowie and his troops were punished in the second half for again not being clinical in front of goal and Hendricks pounced again with his second of the game to put the visitors in the lead for the first time in the match.
This, coupled with wasted chances deflated the home side and allowed George to add a third goal late in the second half to put the game out of Maties’ reach for a well-deserved away victory.
More importantly, Grassy Park (27 points) have extended their lead at the top to five points over the Maties (22) with the latter having played a game less.
Needless to say that this Stream is now United’s to lose but nothing is guaranteed and it could still go down to the wire.
It must also be noted that Grassy Park has an easier run in with Batalions (away), Zizwe United (home) and Oriented Birds (away) in their remaining three, while Maties face Zizwe, Cape Town Spurs and Clarewood JPM (Antalyaspor) and the outstanding games against Hout Bay United FC.
And exciting ending to the season awaits!
