Gift Links and Roland Putsche scored twice as Cape Town City crushed Free State Stars 5-0 in a Premiership match at the Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Stars went into the match with just one win in their past eight games, and found themselves a goal down at the break after City’s Putsche headed home from a corner kick in the 36th minute.
The Austrian scored his second goal of the game from the penalty spot seven minutes into the second half, after Thamsanqa Mkhize had been fouled in the Stars penalty area.
Things turned even worse for the visitors in the 59th minute, when midfielder Sibusiso Hlubi was sent from the field after putting in a dangerous tackle on Mkhize.
Playing a man short, Stars were always going to be on the receiving end of a bad result, and City midfielder Links blasted home his team’s third goal of the night in the 62nd minute.
Siphelele Mthembu rubbed further salt into the Bethlehem-based team’s wounds by scoring City’s fourth of the night in the 71st minute.
With three minutes of the match remaining, Links got his second goal of the game.
But the match ended on a bad note for the hosts when defender Taariq Fielies also received his marching orders from the referee deep into stoppage time.
City moved to 27 points from 17 matches, and will turn their attention to Nedbank Cup last-32 round action, when they take on SuperSport United in Cape Town on January 26.
Stars, on 16 points from 14 games, will be at home to National First Division outfit Richards Bay in their Nedbank encounter on the same date.
MAN OF THE MATCH 🔥
✋CRAIG MARTIN ✋ #iamCityFC💥💙 pic.twitter.com/TykdnOYUb7
— Cape Town City FC (@CapeTownCityFC) January 16, 2019