Cape Town Spurs coach Shaun Bartlett continues to live on borrowed time after his side suffered a seventh consecutive defeat in the DStv Premiership
on Saturday, losing 3-1 to Cape Town City at Cape Stadium Town.
Darwin Gonzalez’s penalty in the 43rd minute and Khanyisa Mayo’s second-half double helped the Citizens claim bragging rights in the Cape Town derby and end their five-match winless streak.
The goal came after Chumani Butsaka diligently tackled City’s Marc van Heerden in midfield and launched a counter-attack, keeping Cupido from making any mistakes.
After the goal, Spurs mainly defended, leading to a fierce battle between talented young player Jaedin Rhodes of City, 20 years old, and defender Nazeer Allie of Urban Warriors, 38 years old.
Rhodes is versatile, capable of playing at both ends of the field, promising to be one of the young players to watch in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) this season.
Spurs also did well to block all manner of deliveries from the dangerous Khanyisa Mayo for much of the first half.
The Urban Warriors’ solid defense forced Tinkler to make an early change, bringing on Thabiso Kutumela for Juan Zapata in the 33rd minute to address the lack of activity on their right flank.
The departure of veteran midfielder Clayton Daniels seems to have weakened the Spurs’ defense a bit.
Daniels, 39, had to replace Siyanda Msani in the 35th minute after colliding with his team’s goalkeeper Sam Ramsbottom.
The public’s pressure on Spurs caused the home team to receive a penalty kick after Rushwin Dortley touched the ball with his hand in the penalty area. Gonzalez stepped up and scored his first goal of the season from the penalty spot two minutes before the break.
Both teams played attacking football in the final quarter, but it was City who benefited from more time in the opposition half, with Mayo performing better in the final 45 minutes.
Mayo scored the first of two goals in the 70th minute after a precise pass from Gonzalez.
The striker put the game ahead of Spurs, the team with the worst defense in the tournament, when he helped the ball go over the crossbar thanks to Kutumela’s excellent play in the 86th minute.
Victory will be a huge morale boost for Man City as they travel to Kaizer Chiefs on Tuesday while Spurs will be hoping for a positive result against SuperSport United on Wednesday.
