All things come to an end as this ABC Motsepe League side Future Tigers know all too well – their unbeaten run in the league came to an abrupt halt last night courtesy of FC Buffalo.
In a gruelling East London derby at the Jan Smuts stadium, Buffalo claimed the bragging rights while Tigers tasted defeat for the first time in five matches into the 2015-16 season.
Buffalo have now moved up to fifth position on the log standings while Tigers drop to sixth.
All it took for Buffalo to secure maximum points were goals from Simamkele Toyi and Sherwin Smith.
Toyi drew first blood 20 minutes into the game from a set-piece, thanks to questionable goalkeeping by Lundi Matika of Tigers, who watched the ball under the impression that it was sailing over the bar.
The strong wind did not make it easy for either side, with the ball often being redirected from reaching its intended destination during passes.
The same Tigers were the victims of the weather conditions as they tried in vain to send high balls for their lanky forward Asanda Kuphiso.
Going into the interval Buffalo were mostly in control of the game but coming back from the change room Tigers displayed more determination and a greater sense of urgency to equalise.
They were unlucky not to level the score when their midfield general Stanley McIntyre fired a thunderous strike from a free kick and Buffalo were saved by the cross bar.
In desperate search for the equaliser, Tigers upped the tempo and another long range strike was punched away for a corner kick by Buffalo’s last man of defence.
Like any other derby, tackles were flying high with referee Lwandile Mfiki dishing out cards like Christmas gifts, including a red card that saw the hosts' Rorisang Setlobeko being sent off for an early shower 15 minutes from time.
Instead of Tigers taking advantage of their extra player, they were caught napping trying to set up an offside trap for Smith who sprinted all the way from just beyond the centre line, went around the oncoming Matika to hammer the final nail in the Tigers’ coffin.
Excited Buffalo coach William Mugeyi said everything went according to plan as he had promised to halt Tigers a day before the match.
“We got what we wanted – three points – and we are happy,” said Mugeyi. “Look, the match was tough as expected for a derby but we executed our plan well by starving them of the ball and our experience showed in our handling of the wind by keeping the ball on the floor.”
His counterpart, Xolisa Zenzile said: “The game was fair. We have no one but ourselves to blame for both the goals we conceded.
“However, we take a lot of lessons from this match. Losing at times is good because it provides you an opportunity to reflect and fix your mistakes going forward.”
Buffalo halt Future Tigers’ winning streak
In a gruelling East London derby at the Jan Smuts stadium, Buffalo claimed the bragging rights while Tigers tasted defeat for the first time in five matches into the 2015-16 season.
Buffalo have now moved up to fifth position on the log standings while Tigers drop to sixth.
All it took for Buffalo to secure maximum points were goals from Simamkele Toyi and Sherwin Smith.
Toyi drew first blood 20 minutes into the game from a set-piece, thanks to questionable goalkeeping by Lundi Matika of Tigers, who watched the ball under the impression that it was sailing over the bar.
The strong wind did not make it easy for either side, with the ball often being redirected from reaching its intended destination during passes.
The same Tigers were the victims of the weather conditions as they tried in vain to send high balls for their lanky forward Asanda Kuphiso.
Going into the interval Buffalo were mostly in control of the game but coming back from the change room Tigers displayed more determination and a greater sense of urgency to equalise.
They were unlucky not to level the score when their midfield general Stanley McIntyre fired a thunderous strike from a free kick and Buffalo were saved by the cross bar.
In desperate search for the equaliser, Tigers upped the tempo and another long range strike was punched away for a corner kick by Buffalo’s last man of defence.
Like any other derby, tackles were flying high with referee Lwandile Mfiki dishing out cards like Christmas gifts, including a red card that saw the hosts' Rorisang Setlobeko being sent off for an early shower 15 minutes from time.
Instead of Tigers taking advantage of their extra player, they were caught napping trying to set up an offside trap for Smith who sprinted all the way from just beyond the centre line, went around the oncoming Matika to hammer the final nail in the Tigers’ coffin.
Excited Buffalo coach William Mugeyi said everything went according to plan as he had promised to halt Tigers a day before the match.
“We got what we wanted – three points – and we are happy,” said Mugeyi. “Look, the match was tough as expected for a derby but we executed our plan well by starving them of the ball and our experience showed in our handling of the wind by keeping the ball on the floor.”
His counterpart, Xolisa Zenzile said: “The game was fair. We have no one but ourselves to blame for both the goals we conceded.
“However, we take a lot of lessons from this match. Losing at times is good because it provides you an opportunity to reflect and fix your mistakes going forward.”
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