Golden Arrows (1) 1

Ndwandwe 17’

TS Galaxy (1) 1

Letsoalo 20’

Golden Arrows and TS Galaxy played out to a highly pulsating 1-1 at the Mpumalanga Stadium on Saturday.

The two teams, despite threatening each other’s goals on a number of occasions, could not land the decisive blow and in the end settled for a point a piece.

Abafana Bes’thende retained their sixth spot on the Betway Premiership standings after extending their unbeaten run to six while Galaxy also stayed in 11th.

Arrows continued their purple patch as they scored the opener through birthday boy Velemseni Ndwandwe in the 17th minute.

Birthday boy Velemseni Ndwandwe scored Golden Arrows’ goal during the Betway Premiership match TS Galaxy at Mpumalanga Stadium, Hammarsdale on Saturday. BackpagePix

Following a spell of pressure, the 29-year-old converted a well-worked corner routine from the training ground and guided a header into the net after a crisp Siyanda Mthanti delivery.

But three minutes later, Former AmaZulu man Victor Letsoalo marked his return to KwaZulu-Natal with a second goal in two games after scoring against Royal AM last time out.

Letsoalo positioned himself expertly to get on the end of a Solomon Letsoenyo cross and levelled matters really quickly.

Following an impressive win over Kaizer Chiefs last time out, all eyes were on Arrows to see if they could keep their good run of form going under hot conditions in Hammarsdale.

Having watched an impressive display against Amakhosi, the Arrows’ technical team made just two changes to the starting 11 as Brandon Theron and Kagiso Malinga started in place of benched Ryan Moon and the injured Keanan Phillips.

The hosts almost struck the first blow inside two minutes as a typical Arrows counter attack caught Galaxy napping and saw Angelo Van Rooi go through on goal.

However, the former Hungry Lions winger could not compose himself and struck the ball straight into the chest of the on-rushing goalkeeper Ira Tape.

He was almost made to rue that opportunity as Galaxy immediately attacked and if not for a poor Kamogelo Sebelebele header, Arrows could’ve conceded their first goal in three games.

Congratulations to Siyanda Mthanti who was named this afternoons Man Of The Match against TS Galaxy #10betgoldenarrows #sthendeway #greenandgold pic.twitter.com/5GpAkKt14q
— Lamontville Golden Arrows FC (@goldenarrowsfc1) January 18, 2025

The two teams were clearly not prepared for a passive and highly tactical encounter and therefore it was no surprise when two goals went in before the 20th minute.

The tempo of the game seemed to slow down as the first half drew on and unsurprisingly so with the heat in Durban a major factor on the day.

Both coaches would’ve felt the game was there for the taking at the half time break with the two teams cancelling each other out in the opening 45 minutes.

Having not started the second half well and had two of their players booked in the process, the Arrows bench introduced Moon for Malinga in the 60th minute, looking for more of an attacking threat.

The two teams will now switch focus from league action as the Nedbank Cup takes centre stage.

Arrows welcome Chippa United to their patch next Saturday while The Rockets expect the visit of third tier side Vasco Da Gama to the Mbombela Stadium on the 29th.