By Lwazi Dlamini
(At King Sobhuza II Memorial Stadium)
Army Commander, Lieutenant General Mashikilisane Fakudze wore a smile as wide as the King Sobhuza II Memorial Stadium pitch after seeing Young Buffaloes beat Green Mamba 1-0 in a top-of-the-league clash on Wednesday to throw the league title race wide open.
With two games remaining, Buffaloes slashed Green Mamba’s lead to just one point which literally means the fiercest title races in years will go down to the last game of the season.
It was talisman Sandile ‘Saviola’ Gamedze who scored his 13th goal of the season when he finished off a loose ball after Green Mamba goalkeeper Xolani Gama had parried a hard shot by Njabulo Maziya six
minutes after the hour mark.
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It was a deft finish by the Sihlangu Semnikati striker who had kept the Green Mamba defence busy the whole afternoon with incisive moves and silky skills. Unlike in last Saturday’s abandoned match, Green Mamba, who needed a straight win to be crowned champions for the first time since the 2018/2019 season, found it hard to break down a water-tight Buffaloes’ defence that thwarted everything thrown it’s way.
With the scorer of the lone goal in the abandoned clash, Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa bottled up by Sihlangu Mkhwanazi, it was left to midfield maestro Mxolisi Mkhonto and Mxolisi ‘Xavi’ Mkhontfo to conjure up some magic. Mkhonto created one scoring chance in the 20th minute when he side-footed Vukile Khumalo but only to fire his rasping shot agonizingly wide of Buffaloes goalkeeper’s goalpost.
The army side exerted more pressure in the second half where they enjoyed better ball possession, and it came as no surprise when Gamedze took advantage of a loose ball spilt by Gama after parrying a Njabulo Maziya shot.
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‘Saviola’ Gamedze picked up the loose ball and with the coolness of a cucumber, he slotted it in the back of the net to leave the huge Green Mamba travelling fans shell-shocked. Buffaloes maintained the 1-0 lead to snatch all three points.
Buffaloes will face Madlenya FC this week and end their season with a clash against already relegated Tambankulu Callies. Green Mamba will take on Denver Sundowns this weekend and end their season with a clash against Security Forces rivals Royal Leopard.
