Lea’alafa plays 55 minutes in Maritzburg defeat

The Solomon Islands international forward Micah Lea’alafa recently helped his new club in South Africa to qualify for the grand final of Telkom Knockout, the South African Cup – but his team last match did not have the result Maritzburg United fans expected. The club lost at home to SuperSport by 2-0 for the ASBA Premiership, the first tier of football in South Africa. The New Zealand players Dan Morgan and Jeremy Brockie also featured for Maritzburg United alongside Lea’alafa but could not change the outcome for their side.

Lea’alafa played 55 minutes of the match and was subbed by his coach Erick Tinkler to give place to Thabiso Kutumela. Dan Morgan also was replaced but in the 71th minute of play to give his spot to another New Zealander, the striker Jeremy Brockie that started the game in the bench.

The Solomon Islands international is still to score or assist for his new club. He played 296 minutes in total for Maritzburg United in seven matches. It was reported that Lea’alafa was off some matches of the South African side due a minor injurty, that let him out of field for some weeks. In the last two matches of Team of Choice, the former Auckland City player started the matches – in both of them being replaced in the second half.