Platinum Stars bounced back to winning ways when they edged out Free State Stars 1-0 in an Absa Premiership.at Goble Park on Saturday afternoon.

Missed opportunities were the talk of the day as 'Ea Lla Koto' squandered numerous golden scoring chances in front of goal which always left the Tycoons with a chance of snatching victory. And that is exactly what they did when Norikazu Murakami netted in the death to win the game 1-0.

Free State controlled the midfield battle from the outset, especially in the opening 45 minutes. It was not the prettiest of football on a dreadful day in Free State, especially on a water-logged pitch, but the home side definitely made the better of it and created more of the opportunities in the game.

The 'Tycoons' were virtually non-existent in attack and were forced to defend for the majority of the game. Mamadimo Masenya was the rock in the defence for Platinum Stars, holding his team together at the back under a barrage of attack.

Despite their constant pressure on the 'Tycoons', Free State did not create as many clear-cut opportunities as they would have liked to. Instead their final pass or attempt on goal was extremely poor, but that was something the visitors were glad to see.

'Ea Lla Koto's first attempt on goal came as early as the eighth minute when Tshegofatso Mashego let fly from just outside the 18 yard box. His shot was definitely goal-ward bound after beating the keeper, but Masenya was there to throw his body on the line to deny Mashego the game's opening goal.

Ayanda Gcaba also came close to breaking the dead-lock three minutes later when he met a left wing cross, but his header was superbly saved by Tapiwa Kapini, tipping the effort around the post.

Thereafter the game continued to be fast and furious with tackles flying in from every direction. It was only a matter of time before a couple of names found their way into the referee's book. And with Free State constantly pushing forward it was inevitable that a 'Tycoons' player would get booked.

Consequently there were four yellow cards and one red in the first half. Ironically enough, however, after three separate Platinum Stars players were booked it was an 'Ea Lla Koto' player, in Mashego, who was dismissed from the field of play shortly before the half time whistle.

After being reduced to ten men Free State were more than happy to get into the change room in order to regroup.

In the second half, despite being a man down, 'Ea Lla Koto' were still the better side playing the better football. But just like the first half, their finishing was terrible and in the 86th minute they were made to pay when Norikazu Murakami put the 'Tycoons' in front from the penalty spot, 1-0.

That was the blow that cracked 'Ea Lla Koto's heart and clinched the three points for Platinum Stars.