The top 5 Sporting moments of the weekend


By Neo Poho

1.Pirates impress at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium.

Orlando Pirates made sure they stay within touching distance of the chasing pack as they defeated Marumo Gallants 2-0 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in North West on Saturday night. 

Monnapule Saleng and Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo scored in either half to take Pirates to 4th on the log with 28 points after 18 matches.

In a very high tempo encounter Pirates broke the deadlock in the 36th minute as Monnapule Saleng converted a Terrence Dzvukamanja cross into the back of the net.

Marumo Gallants came into the second half looking to restore parity as the halftime team talk by Dan Malesela looked to have spurred the team on, however it wasn't to be as Pirates received a penalty in the 68th minute.

Marumo Gallants former player Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo stepped up and converted the penalty with ease as the buccaneer's were on cruise control mode.

Pirates then managed to consolidate matters as they went on to claim their third consecutive victory for the first time in the campaign.

The victory means that Pirates have now scored 9 goals in the last three encounters much to the delight of forwards coach Scott Chickelday whose work is now proving to be evident ever since joining the Soweto giants.

2.Amakhosi return to winning ways.

At a packed Peter Mokaba Stadium, Kaizer Chiefs used the advantage of the "12th player" to secure their 8th victory of the season by defeating Royal AM 2-0 on Sunday night.

With the Chiefs fans coming out in numbers to support their beloved team, the 11 players in the field of play couldn't have asked for a better reception from their faithful.

Amakhosi dominated from the first half creating chances that really lacked composure in front of goal however a much better and convincing second half was on the horizon from the Soweto giants.

With the rain pouring hard it was a matter of seconds before it would rain goals too and that proved evident when Sifiso Hlanti broke the deadlock after pouncing on a Kegan Dolly free kick on the hour mark.

With coach Arthur Zwane also giving new signee Christian Saile his debut, the congolese forward striker showed glimpses of what he will offer the Glamour Boys, displaying great pace and power, much to delight of the fans.

Saile was at it again when he provided an assist to Ashley Du Preez with the 25 year old scoring Amakhosi's second goal of the encounter.

It was a much better performance from Chiefs who had also started with Itumeleng Khune and Zitha Kwinika on the bench.

3.Proteas claim 2nd ODI against England.

After winning the toss and electing to bowl first in the second ODI against England at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein, the Proteas won the 2nd ODI and ultimately the 3-match series with the third and final ODI still to play.

The Proteas started really well as Lungi Ngidi striked with a beautiful delivery bowling out Jason Roy on 9 runs in the 5th over.

With the Protea fire the order of the morning, the Proteas struck again in the 6th over when Dawid Malan was bowled out through an lbw courtesy of Wayne Parnell leaving England on 33/2.

Captain Temba Bavuma brought in some spin into the attack as Keshav Maharaj struck with his third delivery as he tempted Ben Duckett down the wicket, with the left-hander slicing his loft to mid-on and Janneman Malan was there to catch it.

From there on it was England all the way as Harry Brook raised his bat for his second half-century in just 46 balls while England was on 117/3.

Along with Brook, Jos Buttler also steered the ship as England were in a commanding position on 152/3 after 26 overs with Buttler bringing up his half-century too.

Brook however was taken out courtesy of Aiden Markram on 80 runs while Buttler went on 94 not out. Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Sam Curran also got in on the act helping England to post 342/7 in 50 overs but Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansen bowled the latter out.

Chasing 343 for victory the Proteas had Temba Bavuma to thank as he scored a brilliant century in the 24th over off just 90 runs after Quinton de Kock was taken out in the 12th over for 31 runs.

However just after his century Bavuma was castled by a Sam Curran delivery in the 28th over with the side on 174/2.

With Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram and Henrich Klassen all going out having done much of the work, David Miller's 58 not out and Marco Jansen's resilience took the Proteas home in 49.1 overs.

With the third ODI starting at 13:00 on Wednesday, England will play for pride as the Proteas aim for a clean sweep against the World Cup champions.

4.Djokovic claim a 10th Australian Open.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic won his 10th Australian Open title after overcoming Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday at Melbourne Park.

Djokovic who came into the tournament knowing very well that a victory would see him return to the world number one spot, won with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5) in a feisty affair that saw him get emotional after the triumph.

The victory also means that the world number one is now level with Rafael Nadal on a record 22 grand slams titles.

5.New Zealand claim the Sydney Sevens.

With 878,6 km separating Melbourne where Novak Djokovic controlled matters to Sydney where New Zealand seven won an sevens title, Australia was indeed the place to be this past weekend.

The New Zealand sevens team humiliated the Blitzboks 38-0 in the final of the Sydney sevens.

New Zealand started like a house on fire scoring as early as the 3rd minute, Joe Webber then also got in on the act to take the Kiwis to a 12-0 lead after the conversion was successful by Akuila Rokolisoa.

With the Blitzboks nowhere to be found, New Zealand continued with their dominance as tries continued to come at regular intervals until the buzzer finally hooted for the end of the match.

The victory means New Zealand consolidate their dominance at the top of the sevens standings with 85 points while the Blitzboks are second placed on 76 points.

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