— Cape Town Saturday at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, Cape Town City’s two-pronged assault of Khanyisa Mayo and Darwin Gonzalez put a stop to TS Galaxy’s spectacular unbeaten streak. TS Galaxy lost 1-0 against Cape Town City.
Mayo’s goal in the fifteenth minute also ended Galaxy goalie Melusi Buthelezi’s remarkable streak of five consecutive clean sheets. The goal completed an aggressive start by City, who grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and had the opportunity to put the result beyond doubt after only 10 minutes.
The Galaxy defense was tortured by the Venezuelan striker Gonzalez on the left flank, and his cross was met by Mayo, who blasted the ball into the top of the net. Buthelezi was left in the lurch as he helplessly saw the breathtaking drive.
City head coach Eric Tinkler stated that three goals were up for grabs in the first nine minutes.
Tinkler stated, “It was a monumental effort on our part since we knew it would be difficult.” “We knew they relied heavily on combinations, so we planned accordingly.
They are not the tallest team, but they possess a large number of players that are technically proficient in tight situations.
“This is what we were up against, and I believe we handled their threats quite well, especially in the last 15 to 20 minutes when they put us under intense strain.
“I believe that we should have won the game in the first half. I noticed three box entrances and three opportunities in the first nine minutes, and you must take advantage of these opportunities. This (lost opportunities) has been a problem for us since the beginning of the season. It is something on which we must continue to work.”
City never appeared in danger of losing in the second half, but Galaxy enjoyed a bigger possession advantage. City was denied a penalty kick and scored a goal that was disallowed because the referees did not see the ball cross the goal line following a shot by Mayo.
Tinkler stated, “There were times in the second half when we could have won the game.”
“I believed the opposing player used his hand, and we should have been awarded a penalty.”
“Overall, we deserved the result, and we were the better team on the day.
“We also lost out on Mayo’s goal, which was broadcast on the stadium’s video board but not seen by the referee.
“Once they started the second half trailing by one goal, it was clear they would gamble.” Early in the second half, they replaced Mlungisi Mbunjana with Lefa Hlongwane. When they began playing wide, we switched to a five-man defense.
“With Lefa organizing the assaults, we figured we’d be able to defend against the types of crosses they’re capable of making,” the coach said.
With this victory, City has now gone four Premier League games without a loss and sits in eighth place with eight points, one point below Galaxy.
Tuesday evening will feature a home matchup for City against Sekhukhune United.