Benni’s boys shock PSL champions Wits in opener

Wits 0 Cape Town City (1) 1 Majoro 41 NOT quite the start the champions were expecting to their title defence.

There is no crisis, à la Chelsea in the English Premier League, but with a home record as good as theirs (the Clever Boys were only beaten twice hat Bidvest Stadium last season) Wits would have wanted to be a bit more convincing.

But City goalkeeper ShuAib Walters brought his A-game last night. The City defenders, thought shaky for much of this opening PSL clash, held on firmly to deny James Keene and Co.

And the winning goal was unexpected – while Wits were piling on the pressure, the visitors got a set-piece outside the box and striker Lehlohonolo Majoro connected with captain Lebogang Manyama’s delivery to send his acrobatic header past keeper Moeneeb Josephs.

Football is cruel and could even be more so when Wits travel to Bethlehem on Wednesday to face bogey side Free State Stars, a side they are still to beat in coach Gavin Hunt’s tenure.

Hunt watched this defeat against City from the stands due to his suspension after he was sent off in the club’s ill- tempered MTN8 victory, on penalties, against Golden Arrows at the same venue last week. He’d said his men wouldn’t need him because “you don’t coach from the bench” and “they (the players) don’t listen anyway”.

But something was missing. Sure, credit was due to evergreen goalkeeper Walters, who also saved substitute Gabadinho Mhango’s penalty kick in the 53rd minute, but they should have punished City’s suspect defence much earlier on in the game.

Instead Benni McCarthy’s side had one chance and buried it – making it two wins from two for the former Bafana Bafana striker, who is in his first head coaching post. – Mazola Molefe