The Premiership side had however to work overtime to achieve their victory in the face of a spirited and brave performance from the Lavendar Hill side and only sealed the win in the dying minutes of the match.

Santos had the first chance to draw blood in the third minute when Jurie Basie sprinted clear down the right wing before pulling the ball back for Ryan Chapman, but his first time shot was well over the bar.

There were a few careless mistakes from the amateur side early on, no doubt a result of nerves, but having said that, there were also a couple of neat moves and some nice touches as the game moved beyond the opening couple of minutes.

Milano’s self belief was given a further boost as early as the fifth minute when a good cross from Orlin Powell picked out Lesvin Stoffels, but his header was directed straight at Santos keeper Wayne Roberts.

But the People’s Team were soon to remind Milano of their potential class in front of goal when Tyren Arendse latched onto a loose ball just outside the area and sent a blistering shot just wide of Justin Smith’s goal.

While Milano continued to hustle their PSL opponents, working tirelessly to close down spaces, Santos were still able to create a few chances on goal, one notable example being Tawonga Chimodzi’s 36 th minute effort, which was struck with some venom and was inches away from finding the back of the net.

However, as the score remained 0-0 when the team went in for the half-time break, it was very much mission accomplished for the Second Division side.

The second half got off to a fast-paced start, with action at both ends of the field, before Santos finally broke the deadlock in the 50 th minute when Basie played a square ball towards Chimodzi, who struck with a clinical low shot into the corner of the net from 20-yards out.

Manuel should have doubled David Bright’s side lead five minutes later when he was given acres of space inside the Milano box, but although his curling shot towards the far post was well hit, Smith pulled off a fantastic save to keep his side in the game.

It seemed at that stage of the game that Santos had the game in the bag, but Milano had other ideas – after a good attacking move had broken down with substitute Shaun Daniels, Powell was on hand to send a shot of top class quality arrowing into the top corner of the net.

Eleazar Rodgers soon had the chance to put the home side back in front, but looped a header just over the bar.

With five minutes to go, the game was very much up for grabs and it was hard to forecast a winner; enter Romano Scott, who showed great strength to ride a challenge on the box before coolly nicking the ball past Smith for the winning goal.


TEAMS

Santos: Roberts, Macala, Otieno, Gabonamong, Fransch, Basie (Rodgers 60’), T Arendse, Chimodzi (van Beulen 90’), Manuel (Scott 66’), Chapman, Mathopa

Milano: Smith, Ling, Rangoli, Loff, Nyman, Rhoda, Felix (Isaacs 62’), Jacobs (S Daniels 68’), Dearham (Philander 51’), Powell, Stoffels

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

We would love to hear from Engen Santos fans - whether it be on the current form of the
PSL side, or your own personal stories while supporting the team over the years...

Please e-mail Chantel Olivier: chantel.o@santosfc.co.za

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -