Baroka held to 2-2 draw
BAROKA FC twice let the lead slip as they played out a 2-2 draw with hosts Stellenbosch FC in the first of the Premier Soccer League’s relegation-promotion playoff games at the Athlone Stadium yesterday.
The Limpopo club had the better of the encounter and let the chance for a positive start to the six-game mini-competition slip, although a point away in the Cape is nothing to be scoffed at.
After avoiding automatic relegation by beating Ajax Cape Town on Saturday‚ Baroka looked buoyed and confident but the defensive naivety that has plagued them all season cost them in the end.
Baroka had two good chances inside the opening five minutes as the gulf between the PSL’s 15th-placed finisher and the third-placed side in the National First Division was immediately evident.
Mxolisi Kunene opened the scoring in the 38th minute with a superb back post header.
Baroka let Stellenbosch back in just before the break as Niang won a rare header to lay it down for Jarrod Moroole to hammer home from outside the box.
Baroka were back ahead 10 minutes into the second half, but David Booysen made no mistake just two minutes later, with the Baroka defenders guilty of ball watching.
The next game in the playoffs sees Black Leopards hosting Stellenbosch on Saturday.