Johannesburg – Thulani Hlatshwayo scored his third league goal of the season to help Wits claim a hard-fought 1-0 Premiership win over SuperSport United in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening.
The Wits skipper climbed above his markers to net a late 74th minute goal from a corner for the hosts, who extended their unbeaten run to four games dating back 10 days.
Three points took Gavin Hunt's troops up to second in the standings with 30 points from their 17 outings, 13 points adrift of Kaizer Chiefs, at the top of the table, and two clear of Mamelodi Sundowns, who have a game in hand in third spot.
A tight affair at the Bidvest Stadium, the fixture lacked the killer instinct with both teams looking tentative going forward while remaining ever-cautious in defence.
The league winds down to a close next weekend.
With a third win in their last five league outings, Wits seem to have returned to their best under Hunt, who guided the Clever Boys to a third-place finish last season and is now looking to go one better.
The Clever Boys enjoyed the lion's share of first half possession, with Sibusiso Vilakazi and Henrico Botes causing plenty of headaches early on, but neither really troubled Ronwen Williams, who remained largely anonymous.
Williams was forced off minutes from the end of the opening half when he collided with former United winger Sameehg Doutie. In his place, young Dumisani Msibi, who last month completed his matric exams, came on for the second half, making his long-awaited debut for Gordon Igesund's side.
A similarly slow start to the second 45 followed, with neither team able to break down their opponent's defence.
However, 16 minutes from the end, Hlatshwayo stepped up, converting with a fine header towards the far post as Wits crept into the lead and looked good value from that point onwards.
For SuperSport it was a second defeat to Wits this season - this after Sthembiso Ngcobo did enough to score from the penalty spot in the pair's opening game of the season.
Igesund, in his 10th league game in charge of the Pretoria outfit, seems to have lost that winning feeling with his team, who have already lifted the Telkom Knockout this season but, nevertheless, look a far cry from a team able to keep up with the league's top four. – Sapa