Question marks over ref’s judgment in CT City victory
● A controversial penalty and two team goals helped Cape Town City end their eightmatch winless run in the DStv Premiership against SuperSport United at Cape Town Stadium yesterday.
Fagrie Lakay was the spot kick beneficiary, scoring his sixth league goal of the season, after referee Luxolo Badi punished SuperSport’s Thatayaone Ditlhokwe for a foul on Tashreeq Morris inside the area after 35 minutes. Badi initially allowed play to carry on before awarding the foul after City failed to score with an advantage.
The referee also left many questions with his decision not to send Ditlhokwe off as his penalty foul on Morris would have normally given the Lesotho defender his second bookable foul.
Badi’s antics were indeed the highlight of what was otherwise a very poor first 45 minutes which saw SuperSport, who were without their leading scorers in Bradley Grobler and Thamsanqa Gabuza, failing to take a single shot on goal for the entire half.
There was, however, no question mark about City’s second goal in the 64th minute by Mpho Makola and Morris’s tap-in in the 84th minute. Makola fired in his first goal of the season after exciting team play that involved Bradley Ralani and Thabo Nodada before the former Orlando Pirates midfielder beat Ronwen Williams inside the area.
Morris benefited from SuperSport’s poor defending of a corner kick, pushing the ball in after getting an assist from Thamsanqa Mkhize.
Both teams came to this clash with poor form and it was only because of their better results in the early rounds of the season and the struggles of those underneath them that they had held on to their positions in the top half of the table.
City had only picked up five points in a winless run in which they lost three and drew five, while SuperSport were winless in five league matches, their last victory coming at home against City (2-1) towards the end of February.
SuperSport coach Kaitano Tembo tried to find goals with Iqraam Rayners, Evans Rusike and Gamphani Lungu up front, but without Grobler and Gabuza, who have contributed 19 league goals for the team this season, his team struggled to trouble the City defence.