Johannesburg – Chippa United and Maritzburg United both continued their poor form on Saturday, playing to a 1-1 draw in their mid-table Premiership clash at Wolfson Stadium in Kwazakhele.
Both sides fluffed chances within the first half-hour, with George Akpabio firing a header wide for the Chilli Boys and Nhlanhla Vilakazi blasting an attempt wide to the right for the Team of Choice.
Akpabio found the breakthrough in the 36th minute, however, when he was set up by Gert Barends and hit the back of the net.
Vilakazi was in the thick of things again on the hour mark, in search of the equaliser, but his effort was saved by Chippa shot stopper Mbongeni Mzimela.
Maritzburg continued to push forward and they eventually levelled the scores with 15 minutes left in the game through Ghanaian striker Mohammed Anas.
With an opportunity to regain their advantage a few minutes later, Andile Mbenyane's shot for the Chilli Boys was denied by Maritzburg keeper Virgil Vries who produced a finger-tip save.
Faced with the last real attempt of the match, Mxolisi Ntshingila was wayward for Chippa in the dying stages as the teams settled for a share of the points.
Both sides stretched their winless streaks to six successive league fixtures as they continued to struggle in their attempts to lift themselves clear of a tight mid-table battle. – Sapa