Moon scores brace as Arrows sink Maritzburg in KZN derby
Golden Arrows added to John Maduka’s woes after sinking Maritzburg United 2-0 in a DStv Premiership clash to claim the KwaZulu-Natal derby bragging rights.
Maritzburg welcomed cross-town rivals Arrows at a wet Harry Gwala Stadium in search of a responsive victory after suffering a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns on Tuesday.
The match kicked off in a high tempo with Arrows dominating the early exchanges but were let down by poor decision making in the final third.
ARROWS ON FIRE
Abafana Bes’thende stringed some good passes to penetrate the Maritzburg defence but couldn’t capitalize on the chances created.
Maritzburg gained confidence and started playing progressive football with Keagan Ritchie swinging in a cross into the box in the 11th minute to find Friday Samu who ballooned his shot off target.
Andile Fikizolo came close to finding the back of the net for Arrows in the 17th minute, but his shot was inches away from goal.
Arrows’ efforts were eventually rewarded when Siyavuya Ndlovu played a pinpoint cross to the box to find Ryan Moon who converted from a close range through a header to open his account for the season.
The Vusumuzi Vilakazi-coached team closed off the eventful first half in style when Moon scored powerful header to complete his brace on the stoke of half time.
Arrows got the second half underway aiming to continue where they left off but both teams seemingly put the foot off the pedal as no real chances were created.
The former Kaizer Chiefs talisman was substituted on the hour mark with Velemseni Ndwandwe coming on to offer Arrows fresh legs to the game.
Arrows kept most of the ball position in the second half as the Team of Choice were chasing the game to at least salvage a point.
After a tightly contested affair in the closing stanza, Arrows walked away with maximum points to move to 7th position on the league table while Maritzburg dropped down to 13th position after 13 games played.