Smuts rise to the KLFA summit

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KNYSNA NEWS - Smuts United have taken over the top spot from Pine Stars in the Knysna Local Football Association (KLFA) Domestic League in the final round of fixtures for the year.

Since the start of the 2021/22 Domestic League season on 20 November, the top tier of local amateur football has been steadily getting back to its feet. The first three rounds were dominated by Pine Stars who were top of the table after the first set of fixtures.

The Rheenendal outfit retained the position on the log, losing only two games over the three weekends of matches up to 5 December. They were, however, handed a bye in the final round for this year, which meant they did not improve on their points tally.

This gave their closest challengers the chance to potentially overtake them at the top of the log.

One such challenger was Smuts United who, despite being nine points behind Pine Stars prior to the weekend, had four games to play last weekend and 12 points available to them to make up the gap to Pine Stars.

Photo gallery: Knysna Local Football Association (KLFA) Domestic League

A total of 12 matches in the league was split between Hornlee and Smutsville on Saturday and Sunday, 11 and 12 December.

On Saturday, Crossroads faced United Brothers and FC Rebels came up against Smuts United in Hornlee.

United Brothers edged out Crossroads 3-2, while Smuts United fended off FC Rebels with a 2-1 win. The second set of games for the day saw FC Rebels beat Crossroads 6-1 while Smuts United beat United Brothers 4-2.

The next day saw two of the biggest wins of the season come in Smutsville and Hornlee, at the expense of Two for Joy and Crossroads. The day started off terribly for Two for Joy, who were beaten 10-3 by Young Boys, and later on the day they lost 7-1 to Young Stars. This sees them on no points after six games with their goal difference standing on -30.

Crossroads meanwhile were thumped 8-0 by Young Chiefs in Hornlee, the second-biggest win margin of the season so far. With their nine-goal win over Two for Joy the week prior, Young Chiefs now hold the two biggest wins of the season to date.

It was also a good weekend for new boys La Liga that rose to third on the log, tied on points with Pine Stars but behind on goal difference. The top four after the final round of games for 2021 sees Smuts United first with 16 points, Pine Stars second with 15, La Liga third, and Young Chiefs fourth with 13 points.

Erin Jantjies plays a pass to an FC Rebels teammate. Photo: Blake Linder