Santos’ two-month unbeaten run in the league came to an end when they went down 3-0 to Golden Arrows at the Athlone Stadium on Sunday evening.
While it could be said tha Arrows deserved the victory, the score-line was perhaps a bit harsh on Santos as up until the 70th minute a draw looked a possible result after the People’s Team had fought hard for an equaliser in the second half.
The game started off at a slow pace, with neither side grabbing the initiative early on.
The opening goal came out of the blue, with Arrows grabbing a 25th minute lead through Siyabonga Sangweni, who slotted home Joseph Musonda’s cross.
The People’s Team nearly hit back seven minutes later when good work from Erwin Isaacs saw him burst through the Arrows defence and go one-on-one with keeper Helton Da Rocha, but the Brazilian came off better as he moved smartly off the line to block Isaacs’ shot.
Graham King was looking lively down the left flank and in the 33rd minute he came close when a storming run ended in his angled shot going just wide of goal.
Santos started the second half brightly and in the 54th minute Isaacs delivered a great cross which narrowly eluded his team mates in the box.
King took the resultant corner which saw Isaacs head the ball onto the roof of the net.
In the 58th minute Isaacs nearly latched onto a ball in the box, but he was again denied by the quick-thinking Da Rocha.
The home side continued to work hard to try and create an equaliser and in the 66th minute Bongi Macala delivered a great cross from the tight, but King was unable to get his back-post header on target.
Abafana Bes’thende had hardly threatened in the second half, yet it was the KZN side who were to get on the score-sheet when Philani Shange slammed home the ball from close range after Richard Henyekane had beaten Francis Chansa to the ball.
Fortune proved again to not be on Santos’ side on the night in the 85th minute when Isaacs crashed a free kick into the upright.
Arrows sealed the win in the dying seconds of the game when Henyekane beat the off-side trap and slotted the ball past Chansa.
TEAMS
Santos: Chansa, Macala, Fransch (Chapman 49'), Oakes, Otieno, W Arendse, Gabonamong, Isaacs, King, T Arendse (Scott 44'), Ramathlakwana (Basie 63')
Arrows: Da Rocha, Manqanya, Sangweni, Musonda, Tom, Henyekane, Dikgacoi, Ngubane, Mshengu (Shange 64'), Zothwane (Khuboni 62'), Senamela (Kombe 68')
