POLOKWANE – Platinum Stars moved out of the Absa Premiership relegation zone when they beat Polokwane City 1-0 at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday evening.
City have been now been dragged into the bottom three on the league standings.
In a first half characterised by very few scoring opportunities, it was no surprise when the players trooped off goalless at halftime.
Except for a shot by City’s Jabu Maluleke, which was saved by Stars goalkeeper Dino Visser, there wasn’t all that much to enthuse over.
The match was studded by dour midfield exchanges and stunted by the both teams’ reluctance to risk.
It was a tight, compact encounter with space at a premium and, as such, there wasn’t all that much action in the two penalty areas.
To compound matters even further, the rain came down, making things a tad more difficult for the players.
Two minutes into the second half, though, the deadlock was finally broken, with Stars taking a 1-0 lead through Bongi Ntuli.
After the setback, City had no choice but to go for broke and push forward more in search of an equaliser.
The Stars defence, though, held firm.
Both teams then looked to the bench for some inspiration. For City, Walter Musona replaced Maluleke in the 64th minute. And for Stars, Mduduzi Nyanda came on for Katlego Otladisa two minutes later.
More changes followed for Stars, with Maboke Matlakala replacing Ntuli and Ryan de Jongh coming in for Sibusiso Msomi.
City kept on trying in a bid to level things, but they were unable to break down the organised and resolute Stars defence.