Milford extended their unbeaten run to four matches in the Betway Premiership this weekend, owing to a hard-fought 1-0 win over Golden Arrows at the Princess Magogo Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
There was little to separate the two sides for large periods of the encounter, however, it was Milford’s patience that eventually paid off as Siphosethu Ndlabi scored the winning goal with around 20 minutes left on the clock.
The game got off at a timid pace at the Princess Magogo Stadium, with boths sides taking a while to get into their respective passing rhythms. With possession shared evenly during the first 15 minutes, no real scoring chances were created early on.
Abafana Bes’thende recorded their first shot at goal in the 12th minute as Ntandoyenkosi Mabaso let one rip from more than 30-yards but ultimately saw his effort blocked en-route to goal.
Milford kicked into gear as the match progressed while the likes of Mvelo Zikayoko and Jabulile Gxakoshe created chances for their side during the midway point of the first-half.
The away side continued to be the more progressive side on the ball as the half ended but often fell short at the final hurdle. At the other end of the pitch, Ronaldo van Neel was on the end of Arrows’ best chance of the first 45 as he looked to cap off a direct pass into the box but stumbled. However, the Arrows' attacker stumbled in his attempt to gather the ball.
As was the case in the first-half, Arrows and Milford battled to find their feet after the restart, with the latter seeing more of the ball leading up to the hour-mark.
Milford managed to break the deadlock in the 71st minute through Ndlabi after carving the Arrows defence wide open. As he prepared to pounce on the edge of the Arrows area, Ndlabi drifted toward the middle of the box following swift interplay before finding the back of the net with a clam right-footed shot toward the goalkeeper’s bottom right.
The traveling side rode the wave of momentum during the last 15 minutes of the match and were awarded a couple of opportunities to put the game to bed as seen with chances created by Sicelo Masilela and Sifiso Mdluli.
Nonetheless, It was not to be for Arrows at the end of the 90 minutes as the KwaZulu-Natal side extended their winless streak to four matches in ninth position while Milford returned to winning ways to move into fourth momentarily,
Golden Arrows: 0
Milford: (0) 1 (Ndlabi 71’)
GOLDEN ARROWS: Mbanjwa, Maluleke (Mafuleka 84’), Mabaso, Jiyane, Shezi, Zwane (Mandla 74’), Dlamini, Maxwele (Nkosi 84’), van Neel (Sithole 62’), Dion, Khumalo (Gasa 62’)
MILFORD: Hleza, Bhengu, Khwanya, Cele (Mthabela 67’), Mdluli, Mthethwa, Nomandela, Gxakoshe (Mbunga 80’), Chili (Mkhize 80’), Zikakayo (Masilela 60’), Ndlabi