DURBAN – Bidvest Wits are untouchable away from home and they proved on Thursday night when they smashed Lamontville Golden Arrows' unbeaten run at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Clermont.
The Clever Boys emerge as 1-0 victors and jumped from 9th to 5th on the log. Wits have been on fire on the road.
They haven't tasted defeat away from home. The former league champions have defeated AmaZulu, Polokwane City and Chippa United. Arrows were casualties last night. The only team to have denied Wits the maximum points is Highlands Park. Even the Lions of North couldn't beat them instead they shared the spoils in a 1-1 stalemate.
Wits still have a long way to go to catch Chiefs at the summit of the log. They are now 15 points behind the log leaders, Amakhosi who have acquired 34 points. Chiefs have 13 games though while Wits are on nine matches. They are behind the schedule because of their commitment in the Caf Confederation Cup.
Our #TheCleverBoys starting XI v Arrows tonight: Goss; Hlanti, Mkhwanazi, Hlatshwayo, Macheke; Hotto, Alexander, Monare, Doutie; Motupa, Pelembe. Kick-off at 18:00. pic.twitter.com/l3PfxJII88
— Bidvest Wits (@BidvestWits) December 12, 2019
The Clever Boys took the lead in the 34th minutes when Gift Motupa converted a penalty to put his side infront.
Nkosingiphile Gumede was judged to have fouled Motupa inside the box. It didn't seem like a penalty but Wits were happy. They were denied what looked like a clear penalty earlier at the start of the game when Nkosinathi Sibisi fouled Motupa in the box.
Motupa wasn't to be denied the second time around. He also dusted himself up to rattle the back of the net.
The weather conditions affected the pitch and the flow of the game. The surface was wet. That denied both sides an opportunity to put the ball in to the ground.
Elias Pelembe hit the post on the hour-mark. Gumede was well beaten but the framework came to his rescue.
Wits were creating better goalscoring opportunities while Abafana Bes'thende enjoyed the bulk of the possession without troubling the visitors.
Knox Mutizwa fluffed a glorious opportunity to restore parity for Abafana Bes'thende in the 70th minutes. Siyabonga Dube was brought down in the box by Deon Hotto was penalised for his action.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheCleverBoys?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheCleverBoyson a super 1-0 win over Arrows! The 3 points takes us up to 5th place on the Absa Premiership table. pic.twitter.com/qAVHNYPBLF
— Bidvest Wits (@BidvestWits)
The Zimbabwean has been the pillar of strength for Arrows infront of goals. He has already netted eight goals and is tied with Samir Nurkovic of Kaizer Chiefs and Peter Shalulile of Highlands Park. If there's was one man that Arrows would have backed to convert that penalty, it is Mutizwa but couldn't. He fired his attempt wide.