(Football news) The first 20 minutes of the game were competitive as little could be said to distinguish the two sides’ performances. The Indian Super League (ISL) team was actually solid at the defence and fluid up front. They were well-organized defensively, which prevented them from giving up too many chances for goals during open play.

They repeatedly attempted to set up an attack, especially from the right flank’s inner channel. The Mariners repeatedly broke through the Stellenbosch midfield lines while executing some beautiful passing plays. However, it appeared occasionally that they were losing some of their forward momentum and needed more players in the final third to truly score goals.

In the 26th minute, a corner gave Stellenbosch their first tantalising opportunity. In the deep end of the box, Roy-Keane Avontuuk was perfectly positioned to pull down the kick and fire a shot directly at the goal. The ball ultimately deflected, but Azola Jakalashe was able to get his foot in front of it to tap it in, giving the reigning champs a vital lead as halftime approached.

In the second half, Lalrinliana Hnamte started to play the ATK Mohun Bagan midfield with more vigour. He might have known that Stellenbosch would try to push the Mariners back, so he played some rapid vertical passes to help his team advance. In addition to passing the ball to the flanks, he also played long passes to put some of his strikers in a scoring position inside the penalty area. The midfielder even attempted a few long-range shots, but they were unsuccessful since they missed the mark.

But ultimately, it was a Stellenbosch midfielder who was the key. Jaylien Trent entered the game off the bench and joined in right away. On the left flank, his team recovered possession of the ball, and Trent, who was standing at the midway point, received it. Without even blinking, he launched a long ball, which Avontuuk intercepted and chipped over the head of Arsh Anner Shaikh to score his team’s second goal of the game and secure the South African team’s second consecutive victory this season.

Brief Scores

Stellenbosch 2 (Roy-Keane Avontuuk 26’, Roy Keane-Avontuuk 65’)   – 0 ATK Mohun Bagan 

Also read: Wolverhampton Wanderers defeated RFYC 2-0 to maintain their perfect record