Stars outshine Orbit in goalless play-off draw

Orbit College and Casric Stars played to a goalless draw in their first match of the Premier Soccer League promotion play-offs at Olympia Park Stadium on Wednesday.

After weeks of delays due to protests and legal cases, the play-offs finally got under way between the two Motsepe Foundation Championship teams.

Orbit were hoping for a victory since they were playing at home, but could not capitalise on that advantage and were left disappointed with the draw. 

With both teams eager to secure a spot in SA’s top-flight football league next season, they showed their intentions by trying to take the game away from each other.

Stars came close to breaking the deadlock, but Orbit goalkeeper Sekhoane Moreane denied Thabang Semache’s attempt. Moreane made sure Casric didn’t find the back of the net in the first half, with a couple of top saves.

Orbit didn’t create enough decent scoring chances in the opening half, and were restricted to a single shot on target in the match. 

Neither side dominated, and both teams had their moments. Stars had better chances to open the scoring but failed to convert them.

Stars were compact in their defence, which made it difficult for Orbit to break them down and create decent chances, with the result that they never had a single shot on target in the second stanza.

On the other hand, Moreane had a good game and made good saves to keep his side in the match. 

As the match progressed, Orbit looked tired. This could be because they had to wait for more than two weeks before playing after the playoffs were put on hold.

This result may give Cape Town City a chance to take an early lead if they score a victory against Orbit at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday in the mini-league.

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