Golden Arrows and Bloemfontein Celtic share the points in Clermont clash

Victor Letsoalo of Bloemfontein Celtic and Velemseni Ndwandwe of Golden Arrows go for the ball during their DStv Premiership clash at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Clermont, Durban on Sunday. Photo: Steve Haag/BackpagePix

Victor Letsoalo of Bloemfontein Celtic and Velemseni Ndwandwe of Golden Arrows go for the ball during their DStv Premiership clash at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Clermont, Durban on Sunday. Photo: Steve Haag/BackpagePix

Published Apr 11, 2021

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DURBAN – A 72nd minute headed goal from Knox Mutizwa rescued a point for Golden Arrows as the now third-placed DStv Premiership side recorded a 1-1 draw against Bloemfontein Celtic at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Clermont, Kwa-Zulu Natal on Sunday afternoon.

Mahashe headed home beyond the reach of Arrows keeper Sifiso Mlungwana in the 34th minute after having met a corner which was directed towards the back post.

Just seven minutes later, Knox Mutizwa was inches away from equalizing for Abafana Bes'thende but saw his delicate header strike the crossbar following a well-played pass from team-mate Velemseni Ndwandwe.

Arrows dominated the possession count in the first half and did so again in the second half but to the credit of Celtic, they were patient in terms of their defensive resolve, preventing the home side from equalizing.

It was evident that Mandla Ncikazi’s side employed an attacking style of play from the second half as they applied some early pressure in the final third.

Both sides had their fair share of scoring opportunities in the game and the score-line could have ended very differently for each side had they been more clinical with their opportunities. In the end, Celtic managed to convert one of their opportunities which made the difference as far as the result went.

The post was not there to prevent Mutizwa from scoring in the 72nd minute as happened in the first half. Ironically, he was strategically positioned and pounced on a ball which ended up striking the post of Celtic keeper Jackson Mabokgwane.

After drawing equal, Arrows appeared to be fired up, pushing on in search of that decisive goal, though the Celtic defence did their part to earn the point.

There was plenty of end-to-end action in the game and Celtic did have their fair share of attacks with Victor Letsoalo in particular causing problems to Arrows central midfielder Thabani Zuke through his speed.

Ntsako Mabhubela killed off Arrows chances of winning the game in the 87th minute as he earned a red-card following a clumsy challenge.

Arrows will next be in action in an away clash next Wednesday against SuperSport United.

@eshlinv

IOL Sport

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