Mvala attributes victory to Da Gama
Striker’s goal sinks stubborn Baroka
Highlands Park top goalscorer Mothobi Mvala, who netted the all-important goal that saw his side beat stubborn Baroka 2-1 in Tembisa on Saturday, attributed their hard-fought win to the technical team, especially coach Owen da Gama.
Interestingly, all the three goals were headers.
First it was Mduduzi Mdantsane for Baroka in the 15th minute, Sello Motsepe equalised in the 44th minute and Mvala scored in the 52nd minute.
Mvala, whose eighth goal saw him close the gap behind Absa Premiership top goalscorer Mwape Musonda of Black Leopards who has found the net 12 times – said: “Owen was very hard on us during the week in training. He complained bitterly that we always create chances but fail to convert them, and we went into the game with one thing in mind, create and convert. This victory is slowly pushing us away from relegation zone.”
The Lions of the North remain in the ninth spot despite collecting maximum points. Highlands should have taken the lead in the 10th minute when Ryan Rae’s brilliant shot with the inside of his boot appeared to have crossed the goal line before Baroka keeper Elvis Chipezeze could lay his hands on the ball. Rae was back in the spotlight in the 44th minute when his long throw-in was beautifully headed home by Motsepe. Mvala sealed for Highlands when the tough and assertive midfielder jumped majestically to head home a perfect cross from Sabelo Nyembe. But it was Baroka who finished the game strong, although their efforts did not matter on the score line.
Man of the match Bevan Fransman made it clear though that they did not play their best football. He gave credit to 13th-placed Bakgaga, who went straight to work from the outset.
“They came to fight and had us against the wall. You saw it took us a very long time to figure them out. But once that happened, the guys knuckled down to work and that paid off. I am excited to have been voted man of match but it is a team effort,” Fransman said. Baroka coach Wedson Nyirenda said: “We promised to give it our all and we did just that, but sadly we lost the game. Look, the fight to get away from the dangerous position is still on.”