Highlands Park drops points, Sundowns win Pretoria derby
An action-packed weekend in the Gauteng Development League (GDL) included a successful u19 GDL Festival, held at the Sicelo Stadium, in Midvaal, on Sunday.
On Saturday, though, the league leaders, Highlands Park, and Wits Junior squared off in an exciting, high-scoring match that concluded with a 3-3 draw at Marks Park.
The home side, Wits, appeared to be on the verge of a shock victory, but a late equaliser from the penalty spot by the Lions of North grabbed a share of the spoils for the visitors.
The late goal was likely a disappointment for their title challengers – SuperSport United, Randburg AFC, Remember Elite Sport Academy (RESA), and Mamelodi Sundowns – all of whom were closely monitoring the match.
In other matches on Saturday, Rockefvs handily defeated Jomo Cosmos, beating EzeNkosi 3-0, while East Rand Athletic Club took on a revitalised Seven’s Academy, who were fresh off of an impressive 4-3 victory over Randburg last weekend. But East Rand executed their strategy effectively and emerged with a 2-0 win.
The focus of the GDL weekend was Sunday’s u19 Festival and it didn’t disappoint, with the Midvaal community turning out in large numbers to enjoy the action.
Check out the SuperSport Schools Plus YouTube Channel for more GDL highlights
The matches kicked off with a hard-fought 1-0 victory for SuperSport United over Kathorus Hyper Academy. Given Kathorus’s strong form during the second round of the GDL fixtures, and the pressure of the title race, it was a big three points for SuperSport.
In the day’s second match, RESA secured a crucial victory to also remain in contention for the title. Mandla Vilakati continued an excellent season for the Vereeniging-based club, netting a brace in a 2-0 victory over School of Excellence, which resulted in him deservedly receiving the man of the match award.
Mamelodi Sundowns knew they had a chance to close the gap on Highlands Park ahead of their Pretoria derby against the University of Pretoria (Tuks). It proved to be a challenging contest for both teams.
Sundowns eventually won and earned all three points on offer, thanks to a goal from Selwyn Stevens, who also earned the man of the match accolade for his outstanding performance.
In the final match of the day, Kaizer Chiefs, who suffered a 0-3 defeat against Highlands Park at home last week, took on Panorama FC. The Amakhosi reversed their fortunes in style, romping to a 4-0 victory.
In a match played at the Randburg Sports Complex, Randburg AFC held off Elspark United Academy 2-1.
Lehlogonolo Kakamba and Keith Jele struck for the home team, while Tebogo Dlamini replied for Elspark.
On Wednesday, September 24, Heritage Day, the GDL will feature a full round of fixtures.
RESULTS
Saturday, 20 September
Rockefvs 3-0 Jomo Cosmos
Highlands Park 3-3 Wits Junior
East Rand 2-0 Seven’s Academy
Sunday, 20 September
SuperSport United 1-0 Kathorus
RESA 2-0 School of Excellence
Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 Tuks
Kaizer Chiefs 4-0 Panorama FC
Randburg AFC 2-1 Elspark United Academy
Forthcoming Fixtures
Wednesday, 24 September
14:00
3rd Square Stadium
TS Galaxy vs School of Excellence
14:30
Tuks Sports Ground
Tuks vs Jomo Cosmos
Elspark Sports Ground
Elpark United vs Panorama FC
Woodlands International College
Seven’s Academy vs Kathorus Hyper Academy
Greek Sporting Club
Joburg City vs Mamelodi Sundowns
15:00
Curro Sagewood
SuperSport United vs Randburg
ACCP Sports Ground
Rockefvs vs RESA
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