Simunye thrashes Paris United in regionals

In the second half, Simunye continued to play with confidence and Ntlaba completed his hat-trick.

SOCCER NEWS - Lawaaikamp’s Simunye FC delivered a commanding performance on Sunday 1 February, defeating Paris United 4-0 in a Safa Eden Regional Men’s League fixture at the Lawaaikamp Stadium in George.

The home side dominated from the outset, with lanky forward Yamkela Ntlaba - a former Imizamo Yethu High School player - leading the charge.

He opened the scoring after just five minutes, slotting home to make it 1-0. Paris United defended resiliently early on, but struggled to create clear chances - one effort even sailed right over the bar.

Simunye doubled their lead midway through the first half when Ntlaba beat Paris goalkeeper Abongile Booysen for his second goal.

Paris pushed forward, and winger Liyema Tukwayo looked dangerous on the left flank, but he spurned a golden one-on-one opportunity, firing straight at Simunye keeper Thatho Maboea.

Moments before half-time, Nandile Jacobs capitalised on a counter-attack to make it 3-0, piling pressure on the visitors. The first half ended with Simunye firmly in control.

In the second half, both teams attacked more openly down the flanks, but Paris United failed to find a breakthrough. Simunye continued to play with confidence and Ntlaba completed his hat-trick to seal a 4-0 victory and secure maximum points.

Both teams remain anchored at the bottom of the log, battling to climb into the top eight.

Speaking after the match, hat-trick hero Ntlaba expressed his delight at performing in front of home supporters.

“It feels good to be back here,” he said. “Scoring against Paris means a lot, and I believe we can turn things around as a team. We’re at the bottom now, but we’ll fight to improve our position on the table.”