By: Njabulo Ndlovu

Alpine Residence is one win away from advancing to the Residence League semi-finals.

Alpine defeated Berea Residence by 1-0 at Fred Crooks Sports Centre, Steve Biko Campus, on 6 August. Alpine got the all-important away goal courtesy of Njabulo Mchunu.

Berea played well as they attacked from the word go, but failed to take their chances.

Both teams played a physical game as there were many tackles and fouls. The referee blew his whistle on more than one occasion as both teams played physically.

In the second half, Alpine finally got a breakthrough as they found the back of the net.  Mchunu’s goal handed Alpine a win and they are confident they will also win the second leg at home.

Thokozani Ngwenya, Alpine captain, said the game went according to plan because they won, but they are disappointed they only saw the net once.

“Berea is strong- they gave us a tough game, and I am expecting the same from them in the second leg. We only scored once, which means we will not go to defend but to score more goals in the second leg,” he said.

Thulani Khanyile, captain of Berea said they played well beside the fact that they lost.

“We knew that the game was going to be tough, and in the second leg we will beat them. We will have to work on our midfield and attack as our defence played well. We will come back because they beat us with a single goal,” said Khanyile.

Seaboard 2 beat Berea 155 by a single goal to also put themselves in a good position to advance.

A goal in the second half by Nhlakanipho Mthalane was the decider, and a crucial one at that, as they played away.

Mlungisi Ngobese, captain of Seaboard 2 said he was happy to win their away game, and he is confident they will also win the second leg.

“This win motivated us, and we will work hard to continue playing this well, and we will also work on our attack because we missed a lot of opportunities,” said Ngobese.

Mbekezeli Ndlela who is the captain of Berea 155 said they played well, despite missing some of their key players.

“We played well, because we did not train this week, and I’m confident we will win the second leg, because all our players will be available then,” said Ndlela.