How many footballers have scored two goals from inside their own half? We can name one‚ straight up – David Beckham. And now there is also Mamelodi Sundowns and Bafana Bafana star Hlompho Kekana.
As the dust has settled from a stomping match-up between two bulls in the Orlando Stadium kraal on Wednesday night in Sundowns’ 3-1 Absa Premiership victory against Orlando Pirates‚ Kekana’s achievement is only beginning to sink in.
Taking a pass from Percy Tau, Kekana looked up to see his former teammate‚ Pirates keeper Wayne Sandilands, off his line. Downs’ captain and defensive midfielder extraordinaire launched a swerving 55-metre lob that had Sandilands backpedaling‚ the keeper then fumbling slightly as the Brazilians took a 2-0 lead.
Remarkably‚ it was Kekana’s second goal scored from his own half.
He scored an arguably even better goal for Bafana in their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Cameroon in Limbe on March 26‚ 2016.
In the first half of that 2-2 draw Kekana took the ball off Cameroon’s Tony Tchani deep in Bafana’s half.
The Sundowns defensive midfielder advanced a few metres then lobbed in the strike over the head of backtracking goalkeeper Guy N’dy Assembe‚ from a good 10m inside his own half on the right.
Kekana joins a list of players‚ including Rivaldo for Barcelona‚ Mor Diouf for SuperSport United‚ Jose Luis Chilavert for Velez Sarsfield and Xabi Alonso for Liverpool to have scored from their own half.
Not too many can have scored two though. Beckham did‚ for Manchester United against Wimbledon in 1996‚ then again for LA Galaxy against Kansas City Wizards in 2008.
Beckham’s second strike‚ though‚ was hit with the keeper way out of his own half pushing up to add numbers in the box in the dying seconds.
So forget about bending it like Beckham. Just crack it like Kekana.
Kekana's goal against Cameroon and Orlando Pirates:
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