Johannesburg - Vasco da Gama's abrasive Zeka Karkee started a storm of his own during the 1-1 Premier Soccer League draw against Platinum Stars with a crude elbow infringement at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Karkee's crunching elbow sent unfortunate Stars' defender Mpangase to hospital with a bloodied mouth and a missing tooth - yet the Vasco culprit was not ordered off the pitch and escaped with a yellow card.
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| Zeka Karkee |
In the circumstances, Bradley Grobler's 74th minute equalising goal for Stars from the penalty spot avoided what would have been a miscarriage of justice in more ways than one after Jonathan Armogam had opened the score for Santos with an opportunist close-range strike following Sibusiso Zuma's mesmerising dribbling down the right wing shortly before half-time.
And the former Bafana Bafana flier demonstrated that at the age of 35 he still has the speed and skill to hold his own with anybody in his position in the PSL.
A torrential downpour earlier in the day threatened the prospect of this Premier League game taking place, but the superb drainage at the World Cup venue left the pitch in tip-top shape at kick-off.
Apart from the unfortunate loss of Mpangase, Stars were also unlucky not to add to their goal tally in the closing stages when Grobler was only prevented from adding to his goal tally by a superb save from Postnet Omony in the Vasco goal.
The promoted Cape Town club, nevertheless, continued to surprise all and sundry with the manner in which they have adapted to Premier League conditions and remain among the top eight teams in the log table.
Stars, the better side on the day, remain perched a mere one point further back.
“This was not one of our better performances,” said Vasco coach Carlos das Neves, whose team have already beaten Kaizer Chiefs this season.
“But if you play badly and can still come away from an away match with a point, you can't really grumble.”
Hospital reports after the gruelling game confirmed that apart from the lost tooth, Mpangase had emerged with nothing else broken from his unfortunate ordeal.
Karkee, in the meantime, was apparently unmoved and came precariously close to receiving a second yellow card in the second period with another crude infringement
Source - Sapa
