Two goals by midfielder Warren Neidel gave Cymot SKW a 2-0 win over Hotspurs on their home ground in Olympia on Friday night. Neidel could have got a third when he broke clear in the final minutes, but Hotspurs’ keeper brought off a great save at his feet. The victory was SKW’s second in a row and saw them momentarily moving to the top of the log, before Saturday’s other second round matches.
The first half was a scrappy affair as both sides pressurised the other into mistakes, while neither side could get their passes together.
Hotspurs employed some long high balls into SKW’s box, but SKW keeper Sven Wiedenroth was steady under pressure.
Hotspurs’ best chance came towards the end of the first half when Edward Asino struck a cracking 30m freekick, but Wiedenroth dived full length to tip the ball away for a corner.
SKW started to dominate in the second half as they started putting together several sweeping attacks from the back. With Marco van Wyk and their new Zimbabwean signing Tatenda Chingarath working hard in the midfield, the chances started coming their way and they took the lead in the 54th minute. Tjono Jagger raced clear on the right wing and sent in a perfect cross for Neidel to volley home in the box.
SKW continued to surge forward and soon extended their lead. This time it was Danny Chilufya who sent a cross from the right and once again Neidel was free in the box to slam the ball into the net.
Lucky Kooper worked tirelessly for Hotspurs in the midfield, but their chances were few and far between as SKW defenders Ralph Ellinger, Sheldon du Plessis and Silver Zemburuka kept a tight lid on Hotspurs strikers Edward Asino and Leonard Stanley.
Before the start of the match SKW’s midfielder Chepela Chepela handed over a trophy to SKW youth player Luc Sivertsen who won the U11 Player of the Year award in the Street House 2008 Development League which was recently completed.
It was a nice gesture from the NPL referees to allow a quick handover before the start of the game, as Luc received warm applause from the 500-odd spectators at the match.