Moriri surprises his old team-mates

Silver Stars (0) 0

Mamelodi Sundowns (0) 1

Moriri 89min

Two seasons ago, Surprise Moriri would have broken a rib to help Silver Stars to victory.

But on Sunday this underrated midfielder punished his former team-mates for a lapse in concentration in the dying minutes of this entertaining Premier Soccer League match, as he helped the Brazilians to their first win of the season.

A lapse of concentration with a minute left on the clock by Stars' veteran defender Willem Jackson gifted Moriri a late winner after Owen da Gama's side had managed to hold their own for a large part of the match.

The former Bafana Bafana defender headed a soft ball to his goalkeeper Wayne Sandilands but it was not enough to beat the alert Moriri, who intercepted before slotting home to spark wild celebrations from the crowd.

For Stars coach Da Gama, the disappointment of having lost this battle was written all over his face as he made his way back to the dressing room, with the consolation that his boys gave a good account of themselves.

Though they were outsmarted for possession and chances, Da Gama's relatively youthful team, led by midfield ace Stanley Kgatla, showed little respect to their more fancied opponents.

For the Brazilians, coach Angel Cappa would have been satisfied with the performance, but the worrying factor is that they tend to be wasteful in front of goal.

Youngster Lerato Chabangu was the main culprit as he continuously opted for aimless long-range shots.

Sundowns nearly opened the scoring in the second minute when Sandilands fumbled David Kannemeyer's close-range effort, only to be saved by Jackson who cleared the danger.

Two minutes later, Stars launched an attack of their own, but it resulted in striker Jackie Ledwaba heading wide of the target from a well laid on cross by December Ngobeni.

Moments later, Ledwaba's header went just wide from a good scoring position before he was again in the thick of things when he used his head from Molefe Lwape's cross, only for Sundowns ''keeper André Arendse to be equal to the task with a diving save.

Just after the half hour mark, Sundowns striker Chabangu produced a moment of rare quality when he turned his marker before unleashing a powerful long-range shot from an awkward angle, only to be denied by the upright with Sandilands beaten.

In the 54th minute, Sundowns had another chance, but miscommunication between defender Michael Manzini and midfielder Godfrey Sapula caused Sundowns to waste another golden opportunity.