Staff Reporter.
Embattled Moroka Swallows suffered a 1-0 loss to Polokwane City in their DSTV premiership first match in 2024 at the Dobsonville Stadium on Saturday.
Swallows went into the match having lost two matches on the spin before the Africa Cup of Nations break. Swallows looked the more promising team in the opening stages of the match but Polokwane City held their own in their defence. In the 10th minute, Given Mashikinya made an effort to get the ball into the box with an accurate pass to Oswin Appollis but it was quickly dealt with by Swallows.
Appollis made numerous efforts to get himself into dangerous areas for the opposition as the match progressed. Swallows spent the first 20 minutes of the match defending and their own attacking efforts were not enough to break through.
Swallows’ error at the back just before the 20th minute mark led to Appollis taking a shot on goal from outside the box, forcing a save from Daniel Akpeyi as he tipped the ball over the bar. By the 30 minute mark, both teams were yet to break the deadlock, leaving them with lots of work to be done in terms of getting shots on target.
Swallows eventually settled into the match and started producing their fair share of attempts at scoring but were not successful. The trend continued until halftime, with the scoreline being goalless at the break.
Polokwane City went for a refresh and made three substitutions in the beginning of the second half, going for more experience in their line-up to try and change their fortunes in the match.
The breakthrough came for the Limpopo based team in the 58th minute through Mokibelo Ramabu who scored from a rebound on Daniel Akpeyi’s save from Appollis’ effort from outside the box.
Another close attempt on goal came from City in the 69th minute when Ramabu played the ball into the box for Appollis who missed from close range.
It started to become one way traffic as PLK City continued to keep possession and charge for goal. Swallows had their own fair share of possession but failed to find their rhythm and were dominated by their opponents.
The match ended 1-0 and the win for Polokwane City moved the team up to 7th place in DStv Premiership and Moroka Swallows dropped down a position to 12th place.
Meanwhile Chippa United fought back to hold Cape Town City to a 1-1 draw in a DStv Premiership match scheduled to be played at the Buffalo City Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The draw saw the Chilli Boys climb up to the 12th spot on the league standings. City, on the other hand, climbed up to the second spot on the standings despite having dropped points.
Coach Eric Tinkler and his charges will now travel to Pretoria to take on SuperSport United in the Nedbank Cup Last encounter on 20 February.