Stellies make it two from two with victory over Aston Villa
Stellenbosch FC made it two wins from two at the Premier League Next Generation Cup in England after recording a 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Friday.
Playing on their home ground, it was Aston Villa who started on the front foot and forced Stellies keeper Dejean Ah Shene into making two good saves from set-piece situations during the opening stages of the encounter.
Stellies rode the early storm, with the likes of Tylon Smith and Simthadile Sishi putting in a strong shift in defence, and looked threatening on the break when counter-attacking opportunities presented themselves.
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The first fell to Langelihle Phili – Man of the Match in Thursday’s win over Tottenham Hotspur – who forced Villa ‘keeper Sam Lewis into a strong one-handed save from close range.
That near miss proved to be a sign of things to come as Stellenbosch took the lead just moments later when Quwan Plaatjies found the back of the net with a wonderful curling effort from outside of the box.
Applying a high press, Ethan Felix won possession with a strong challenge which saw the loose ball fall to Plaatjies, and the young striker made no mistake with a composed first-time strike.
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One nearly became two for Stellies after a quarter-of-an-hour played when Keanan Johanessen finished off a well-worked team move, but the No. 12 was adjudged to have been offside in the build-up to the goal.
The second stanza proved to be a much quieter affair but Ah Shene remained sharp enough to preserve his side’s lead when he pulled of a sharp save to deny Scotland youth international, Roy Wilson.
Villa fashioned a number of half chances during the latter stages of the match but couldn’t find an equaliser, as Plaatjies’ wonder-goal ultimately proved to be the difference in a hard-fought encounter.
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As with the opening encounter against Spurs, a compulsory penalty shootout ensued, but Stellies were once again undone from the six-yard mark as Villa took the extra point on offer as a consolation.