PRETORIA – SuperSport United edged high-riding Free State Stars 3-2 in a thrilling Absa Premiership match at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville on Wednesday.
The result has thrown the Tshwane-based club a life-line in terms of potentially avoiding relegation.
The win has left SuperSport, now on 32 points from 28 games, a point ahead of Ajax Cape Town, who now occupy second last spot on the log.
With bottom-of-the-log Platinum Stars officially relegated to the National First Division after going down to AmaZulu, SuperSport will have been happy to have heard the final whistle in a match which could have been won by either of the two sides.
SuperSport, who have failed to find the back of their opponents’ net in their past five outings, went ahead from the penalty spot in the 10th-minute courtesy of Thabo Mnyamane after Stars defender Patrick Phungwayo had handled the ball in the box.
SuperSport did score again in the 56th minute, but this time in their own net, with defender Richard Boateng being the unfortunate player to watch the ball sail past his goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
Three minutes later, SuperSport went in front again through Aubrey Modiba, who fired home a low shot wide of Stars goalkeeper Thela Ngobeni.
However, the lead was short-lived, with Stars’ Nyiko Mobi grabbing the equaliser when SuperSport’s defenders were unable to clear a loose ball.
Teboho Mokoena proved to be the super substitute for SuperSport, as he scored the deciding goal from close range in the final seconds of the second half.