Hungry Lions packed their defence around every advancing Pretoria University attacker and held up this dogged defence for a long 20 minutes.
A 10-man Hungry Lions FC held the visiting Pretoria University to a 1-all draw during a thrilling Motsepe Foundation Championship game at Windhoek Draught Park in Kimberley on Wednesday afternoon.
The thrills started right from the first quarter hour when the hosts rushed the Pretoria University goal area. They had built up an attack from just inside their own half, carried the ball into the Pretoria University goal area from where it bobbed around before landing fortuitously for the home team.
However, the Lions attacker overzealously blasted a shot way over the crossbar. That was the closest they would ever come to scoring in the opening half.
For their part Pretoria University made a few forays into the Hungry Lions goal area but it was nothing that threatened to turn into a goal. The half ended with the teams locked at zero.
Minutes after the resumption of the second half Pretoria University displayed some enterprise and launched several near goal attacks on the host’s goalposts. They were rewarded with two corner kicks in that period, testimony to their determined attacks on the Hungry Lions goalposts.
Almost midway through the half the hard running Hungry Lions were lucky to break into the Pretoria University goal area from open play and Angelo Van Rooi netted the team’s first goal, standings the score at 1-0 in their favour.
Drama ensued later when Pretoria University raided the Hungry Lions goal area. A Pretoria University striker broke through the Hungry Lions defence and advanced on the Hungry Lions goalkeeper’s line.
The whistle blew, but the player kept advancing on the goalkeeper who in turn came off his line and fouled the goal attacker just as he netted.
The referee drew a red card on the Hungry Lions goalkeeper, sending him off for the foul. From the placed kick the Pretoria University’s Samuel Julies shot hard and high into the goalkeeper’s top right corner. This levelled the score at 1-all.
Predictably after this Hungry Lions packed their defence around every advancing Pretoria University attacker. Lions held up this defence for a long 20 minutes, so much so that they at some point reluctantly went out to challenge the Pretoria University goalkeeper.
The latter had left his line and was playing high up, some metres away from the centre line seeing that the Hungry Lions players were now staying in their own half mostly.
To their credit, the 10-man Hungry Lions held on until the final whistle blew.
