THE Thanda lions slinked off the field with their tails between their legs on Saturday, embarrassed – as they should be – by dismal finishing.
Title-chasing Thanda Royal Zulu needed to be at their best against mid-table African Warriors at the uMhlathuze Stadium.
Instead, they squandered a dozen clear-cut chances and paid the price after letting in two late goals to crash to an implausible 2-1 defeat.
Disbelieving fans watched as they dominated every phase of the match but battled to find the net, apart from a lone first half success.
Thanda opened the scoring after 30 minutes with the predictable Ace Bhengo strike, the PSL’s top scorer slotting home from close range after Menzi Hlophe’s fierce drive was partially blocked by visiting keeper Vusumuzi Magagula.
Warriors did not produce a single shot of note in the first 45 minutes and a rout was expected in the second period.
The longer the game went, the more it seemed likely the floodgates would open as Thanda launched assault after assault into Warriors’ territory.
Particularly impressive was the speedy counter attacking, led by Thabang Thopola, which tore apart the visitors’ defence.
At times they were outnumbered two to four but the Amabhubesi failed to capitalise – a combination of bad luck, poor finishing and terrible decision-making.
Frustration turned to frantic efforts with little thought of shoring up the defence to settle for the 1-0 lead.
They paid the price of leaving the back door open when Thomane Motaung pounced on an error to level matters with just four minutes left on the clock (1-1).
The lesson was still not learnt and the process was repeated well into time added on (2-1).
They will need to repay their supporters and restore their reputation when they take on Milano United at 3.30pm on Tuesday, again at the uMhlathuze Stadium.
