Elsewhere in Dobsonville, Ranga Chivaviro struck twice while Nku Lesiba and Joseph Malongoane added one apiece as Dylan Kerr’s Gallants had a dream start to the competition. Akram Alzawi scored the consolation for the Libyan side, but it was merely a statistic. The match ended as Marumo Gallants beat Al Akhdar 4-1.
Lesiba broke the deadlock in the fifth minute for Gallants, smashing a shot from inside the box after the Akhdar defense struggled to clear a cross.
The Gallants number seven had two more chances, but saw both saved by the keeper. They were however gifted the second in the 21st minute when a short back pass from the custodian was intercepted by Katlego Otladisa who squared back for Chivaviro to simply tap home.
They continued with the form in the second half with Chivaviro adding his second with a low shot from outside the area. Nku thought he had scored his second on the hour mark, but the goal was ruled offside.
Gallants dominated and had a myriad of chances missed, with Nku the guilty party for making most of the scoring opportunities go begging.
They were handed a reality check when Alzawi scored for Akhdar with a traditional route one football goal. A long kick from the keeper was flicked behind by Salim Baled, Alzawi finishing off with a strong half volleyed shot.
But, Gallants put the game back to comfort with five minutes left when Sibusiso Sibeko broke off on the left and into the box, before squaring unselfishly for Malongoane to finish.
