Bloemfontein Celtic and AmaZulu played to a thrilling 1-1 draw in an Absa Premiership match at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium in Mangaung on Sunday.
Hosts Celtic were likely to feel hard done by in not collecting all three points on offer.
The Free State side should well have been two or three goals to the good by halftime, but brave goalkeeping by AmaZulu’s Siyabonga Mbatha, denied the likes of Deon Hotto, Jacky Motshegwa and Ndumiso Mabena.
It was Motshegwa who put Phunya Sele Sele ahead in the 81st minute when he collected a pass from Hotto, before unleashing a left-footed power shot from the edge of the penalty area that angled wide of Mbatha and into the far corner of the Usuthu net.
Fresh from their 2-1 league win over Ajax Cape Town in midweek, AmaZulu battled to settle in the game, but managed to get a share of the points when defender Michael Morton fed the ball through to striker Mhlengi Cele, who placed the ball wide of Celtic No 1 Patrick Tignyemb.
AmaZulu would have been the happier side after their defence did well to concede only one goal as they battled to mark Mabena in particular, whose running off the ball saw him drifting to various attacking areas on the park.
Celtic, now in ninth spot on the league table on 33 points from 26 matches will turn their attention to their next commitment, which is a derby league clash with Free State Stars in Bethlehem on Saturday.
With 32 points from 26 games and in 11th place on the log, AmaZulu will be hoping to put further space between them and the relegation tussle below when they host title-chasing Orlando Pirates next Sunday.