Durban – SuperSport United and Free State Stars played to a goalless stalemate in their Absa Premiership clash at King Zwelithini Stadium, Umlazi, on Saturday night.
The match saw no shortage of goal attempts from either team, but the back of the net was left unrippled to bring about a result which neither side will be satisfied with.
Matsatsantsa may be regretting the decision to courteously move the game to Umlazi to help Mamelodi Sundowns in the CAF Champions League, while Ea Lla Koto will hope for better fortunes after parting ways with coach Denis Lavagne in the week.
Stars started brightly, with Hamis Kiiza warming the palms of goalkeeper Ronwen Williams inside the opening minute, while Moeketsi Sekola also had an early sight of goal but failed to hit the target with a shot from just outside the penalty area.
The Free Staters had another good effort on goal in the 14th minute when Kiiza produced a fine cross to pick out Goodman Dlamini – the former AmaZulu attacking midfielder was denied a first goal for Stars by a fine save from Williams.
SuperSport gradually established a foothold in the game and their first notable chance arrived midway through the first half: Aubrey Modiba provided a lofted cross to find the head of Kingston Nkhatha, but the Zimbabwean’s effort was wide of the mark.
Efforts on goal continued to flow through the rest of the first half, but neither Williams nor his counterpart Thela Ngobeni were beaten, leaving the score locked at 0-0 heading into the interval.
Just as in the first half, Stars began brightly in the second stanza, with Katlego Mashego having an effort on target in the 47th minute only to see Williams once again safely hold on and frustrate the visitors.
SuperSport looked to shake up their attack with the introduction of former University of Pretoria forward Thabo Mnyamane, who replaced the ineffective Nkhatha 10 minutes into the second half. Mnyamane was a lively presence, but even he couldn’t find a way to break the deadlock.
The match eventually became a scrappy affair, with both teams left frustrated by their inability to find a way to goal. United almost pinched a goal with just over 10 minutes of regulation time remaining, as Thuso Phala’s cross found Mario Booysen but his header rebounded off the post.
The result sees Matsatsantsa move to sixth place on the log on five points, while Ea Lla Koto moves off the bottom standings to 14th on two points.
– ANA