Herbert Rachuene - Black Leopards were held to a 1-1 draw by the much improved Vasco Da Gama during the first leg of the National First Division play offs at Tshifulanani Stadium on Saturday. The Cape Town side scored the crucial goal courtesy of Zeka Karkee who beat helpless Leopards keeper Mashudu Mamphita in the 24th minute of the first half. Vasco put their best foot forward again in the 33rd minute with Keenin Lesch setting up Marvin Bean who unleashed a ferocious shot that went over the cross bar. In the second stanza of the heated encounter, Leopards gave their all with skilful operator Christopher Netshidzivhe firing a curling shot that forced Vasco keeper Postnet Omony to produce a stupendous save. Lungu Grant became the hero for the Venda gallery when he scored the equaliser in the 90th minute to bring delight to the throngs of Leopards supporters. Leopards coach Henric Vaslavic promised a different ball game on 7 March when the second leg of the play offs takes place at Parrow Park in Cape Town. “The team played well on Saturday and we had overwhelming support from the fans. It is a must win for us and we will ensure that we get the automatic promotion on Sunday,” said Vaslavic. Dudley Zikhali, sponsorship manager for Football at MTN South Africa said as proud sponsor of Black Leopards they will provide three buses for Limpopo based club supporters to attend the match on Sunday. “The buses will depart from Thohoyandou to Cape Town early tomorrow (Friday) evening. The only requirement is for supporters to pay R350 for their individual accommodation which will be organised by the club on their behalf. The R350 covers only bed and breakfast. The free transport is available on a first come, first serve basis based on proof that a supporter has paid or is able to pay the required accommodation fee,” said Zikhali. Interested parties need to deposit the R350 for accommodation to the following bank account with their name and surname as reference: Standard Bank, Acc no: 003076407, Branch: Protea Gardens, Branch Code: 6805.