With two rounds remaining, this 31-26 victory put Suzuki Griquas on the inside lane to host a home final.

The match in Kimberley on Friday afternoon was a thrilling encounter, and Suzuki Griquas staged a dramatic comeback to snatch victory in the 81^st minute from the visitors from Mbombela.

The match kicked off with an early try from the Airlink Pumas within five minutes of the game. The first half largely favored the visitors, who led 16-3 just before halftime. However, a timely try right before the break injected hope into the hosts’ camp.

A rejuvenated Suzuki Griquas side dominated the second half, taking the lead 17-16 on the 57th-minute mark. Yet, their advantage was short-lived as the Airlink Pumas quickly reclaimed the lead.

The hosts found themselves trailing by two points with time up on the clock but a remarkable try by Cameron Hufke sealed the victory and secured the top spot.

In the first match on Saturday, the Phangela SWD Eagles hosted the NovaVit Griffons, with the latter clinching a crucial 36-28 victory on the road.

Despite maintaining their third-place position on the log, the Griffons closed the gap to just one point behind the Pumas. Both the teams from Mpumalanga and the Northern Free State must secure wins in the last two rounds to keep their playoff hopes alive, but the Eagles have slipped to seventh on the log.

Meanwhile, at the Leeudoringstad Rugby Klub, the Leopards suffered their fourth defeat against a formidable Sanlam Boland Kavaliers team, who won by 59-26.

Spectators were treated to an impressive display as a total of 13 tries were scored, with the visitors bagging nine tries to the four of the hosts. This win kept Boland in fifth place, while the Leopards dropped to eighth.

The standout performance of the weekend came from the Toyota Cheetahs, who secured a resounding 68-17 victory over the Valke, scoring 10 tries to the Valke’s three.

Although this result didn’t alter the log, with the Cheetahs remaining in fourth place and the Valke in ninth, the Free Staters will remain hopeful for a final spot if they win their remaining games and one of the teams above them slips up.

In the final game of the weekend, Eastern Province claimed a 38-17 victory over the Border Bulldogs in their Eastern Cape derby, with EP fullback Mbembe Payi’s, hat-trick contributing to a comfortable bonus point win.

This triumph propelled Eastern Province up two places on the log, while the Bulldogs remain at the bottom, still seeking their first points of the season.

Scorers:

Suzuki Griquas 31 Airlink Pumas 26

Griquas – Tries: Thabo Ndimande, Cameron Hufke, Lubabalo Dobela. Conversions: George Whitehead (3) Penalty goal: George Whitehead.

Pumas – Tries: Ross Braude, Theuns Pretorius. Conversions: Clinton Swart (2). Penalty goals: Clinton Swart (4).

Phangela SWD Eagles 28 NovaVit Griffons 36

SWD – Tries: Heinrich Roelfse, Mpho Ntsane, JP Duvenage, Sachin Toring. Conversions: Joshua Vermeulen (4).

Griffons – Tries: Micheal Benadie, Thomas Ongera, obbie Petzer, Domenic Smit, Dandre Delport. Conversions: Danrich Visagie (4). Penalty goal: Visagie.

Leopards 26 Sanlam Boland Kavaliers 59

Leopards – Tries: Mncedisi Dlwengu (2), Sanele Zungu, Charles Williams. Conversions: Charles Williams (3).

Boland – Tries: Thurlow Marsh, Bentley Geldenhuys (5), Xavier Mitchell, Riaan Louw, Gavern Skippers. Conversions: Garth April (7).

Valke 17 Toyota Cheetahs 68

Valke – Tries: Godfrey Muzanargwo, Anrich Richter (2). Conversion: Sergio Stalmeester.

Cheetahs – Tries: Marnus van der Merwe, Mzwanele Zito, Sibabalo Qoma, Munier Hartzenberg (2), Sbu Nkosi, Tapiwa Mafura, Rethabile Mzamo (2). Conversions: Andell Loubser (9).

Eastern Province 38 Border Bulldogs 17

Eastern Provine – Tries: Temba Boltina, Mbembe Payi (3), Aya Oliphant, Luxolo Koza. Conversions: Darryle Kameel (2) Ruben de Vos (2).

Border – Try: Lwandile Mapuko. Penalty goals: Merlin du Plessis (4).

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The West Coast Derby has often produced fireworks, but FC Goa has not won against Mumbai City FC in the ISL in over four years. They entered this clash chasing their first win in front of the Islanders in nine ISL fixtures between the two teams, and they were dealt an early challenge for the same as Iker Guarrotxena tested Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem early on with a powerful, curling free-kick that the goalkeeper managed to palm away to keep the scores level.

The Spaniard seemed driven to make a difference against his former team, earning that free-kick with a piercing run drilling through the FC Goa defense right from the center, before being fouled just outside the box.

Similarly, former Mumbai City FC midfielder Rowllin Borges, who had scored the decisive penalty to take the Islanders to the final of the 2020-21 season of the competition by beating FC Goa in the semi-final, came touchingly close to breaking the deadlock with a headed effort in the 24th minute of the game. Borges’ shot deflected off the crossbar, and the two teams couldn’t get a goal to their name even until the half-time break.

The Islanders drew the first blood soon in the second half though, with a newly rejuvenated Vikram Pratap Singh putting the home team ahead by tapping in a cross by Bipin Singh in the 46th minute. Bipin had made an instant impact by bagging a brace after coming off the bench away from home against Chennaiyin FC, and he was influential tonight too, with his cross outmaneuvering the entire FC Goa defense to land at Vikram’s feet on the far post on the left side. The attacker hammered the ball in, but his counterpart Mohammad Yasir ensured that the Gaurs didn’t succumb to their fourth straight loss in a row.

Fifteen minutes later, the Spanish striker laid the ball in the path of Yasir on the inside channel of the left flank, and the attacking midfielder, who joined the team in January from Hyderabad FC, demonstrated tremendous confidence to take on Rahul Bheke and drill the ball into the back of the net from distance with his left foot. Bheke, making his 50th start for the Islanders, had no answers to a highly upbeat Yasir, who netted in his second consecutive game to pull the visitors back in the game.

Substitute Borja Herrera produced a similarly impeccable outside-of-the-box effort late in the added time of the second half, but a fully outstretched Phurba Lachenpa dived into action to prevent the midfielder from notching a dramatic late winner.

Key Performer of the Match

Mohammed Yasir (FC Goa)

Yasir completed 20 out of his 24 passes, intercepted once, and created a couple of goal-scoring opportunities, in addition to pulling off the breath-taking goal as he quickly grows to become an integral member of the FC Goa unit under Manolo Marquez.

What’s next for both teams?

Mumbai City FC will play their next match against Punjab FC on March 2, whereas FC Goa will clash with East Bengal FC for their forthcoming fixture on March 6.

Brief Scores

Mumbai City FC 1 (Vikram Pratap Singh 46’) – 1 FC Goa (Mohammad Yasir 61’)

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