This weekend’s heated encounter between Wynberg st Johns and Saxon Rovers, which at one stage was the most talked about game of the weekend, ended in a 1-1 draw while, at the other end of the City, Durbanville’s young squad aided by a few experienced faces and down to nine men, surprisingly held Rygersdal to the same scoreline.
A trip up North is always a tough one for the Rondebosch outfit but nobody expected Graham Purdy’s side to have two send offs on home soil and a win snatched right from under their nose.
The fixture, marred by two red cards for the Northerners, saw Rygersdal – who had beaten Kuilsriver 9-2 the day before – with the majority of possession but unable to convert their chances. The visitors did manage to find the net but the goal was ruled out as the assistant referee flagged for offside.
But even with nine-men on the pitch, the home side fought hard with Michael Petersen giving his side the lead late in the second half after converting Ashwin Kirkman’s flick-on. Shocked at being behind, Rygersdal threw everything at their hosts and eventually got the equaliser moments before the final whistle.
“We always know Rygersdal is a tough fixture,” said Purdy a day after the game. “We are delighted with a point. I was very impressed with Rygersdal, they kept the ball very well and were a constant threat. You simply can’t switch off for a second.”
In other results, Wynberg took the lead against Rovers in the Match of the Day. Wade Crowie scored a cracker from outside the box to give birthday-boy Hein Gradwell something to celebrate, but the spoils would later be shared as Rovers equalised through Ashwin Nel.
Bellville City returned to winning ways, much to the delight of club chairman Sean Smit, as they cruised past Fish Hoek with a comfortable 7-2 win. Avendale topped off their weekend with six points after beating FN Rangers 3-1 on Saturday and repeating the scoreline at Hanover Park on Sunday.
In the West Coast derby, Table View snatched a 1 – 0 win over rivals Sunningdale to cap off their weekend after a bye on Saturday.