SuperSport’s television coverage of the delayed overnight second half of the goalless Absa Premiership draw between Mamelodi Sundowns and Chippa United‚ completed at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday morning‚ was affected by a truck strike in Pretoria.
A match from hell that seemed to have all circumstances conspiring against it almost suffered another setback when a strike by disgruntled coal truck drivers caused havoc in Pretoria.
The striking truckers blocked roads to the Union Buildings‚ which are close to Loftus.
The game had to be abandoned on Tuesday night when a power failure in the Hatfield area saw the lights go out at Loftus in the 42nd minute of play.
The Premier Soccer League scheduled the rest of the game to be completed from 10am on Wednesday morning.
- Power failure finally stops the irrepressible Sundowns machineIt seems only a power failure can stop Mamelodi Sundowns from racking up wins at the moment.
Trucks carrying Pay-TV sports channel SuperSport’s equipment and personnel to the stadium got stuck for more than an hour in traffic jams caused by the coal truck strike.
The TV coverage of the final three minutes of the first half‚ then the opening minutes of the second half‚ separated by a 15-minute half-time break‚ was affected.
Initially two handheld cameras on the touchlines broadcast shaky images of the play while SuperSport technicians were seen hastily setting up fixed cameras‚ as eventually normal coverage resumed for the remainder of the game.
PSL communications manager Luxolo September confirmed the truck strike had affected SuperSport’s coverage.
“What happened earlier affected not just SuperSport but everyone‚” September said.
- Sundowns vs Chippa United game abandoned due to power failureThe lights went out minutes before half time at Loftus Versfeld with Tuesday night’s Absa Premiership game at 0-0 between Mamelodi Sundowns and Chippa United, causing the match to be abandoned.
“Everyone who came in early will tell you the same thing‚ including myself.
“From the entrance to Pretoria coming in from the N1‚ I went via Sunninghill first‚ and from there to the stadium took me an hour-and-a-half‚” said a relieved-looking September‚ who had a tough match to deal with.
Fans were allowed in free to the morning’s resumption of the match‚ which was watched by a few hundred supporters.
Both sides struggled to find their rhythm after the resumption and played out a goalless draw.
- TMG Digital/TMG Sport
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 