POLOKWANE– Polokwane City failed to break a nagging cycle of draws when they were held to a goalless draw by AmaZulu in a Premiership clash at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Neither team could come up with the ammunition to pinch a result or produce a defining moment to bag the points on a sweltering hot day in the Limpopo provincial capital, which necessitated a water break in either half.
Both sides had an equal share of possession in a pretty risk-free opening 25 minutes of the match where neither goalkeeper was tested.
The home side seemed to be quite content to sit back and try catch Usuthu on the counter attack, but even that proved to be ineffective.
Polokwane enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in the latter stages of the opening half, but failed to capitalise on that dominance and squandered the few goal-scoring opportunities they created.
Both teams emerged from the dressing rooms showing more intent and hunger.
AmaZulu coach Cavin Johnson made their positive intent clear when he replaced striker Camaldine Abraw early in the second half, and sent Rhulani Manzini into battle.
Manzini’s contribution to the game was curtailed by injury just 18 minutes after joining the action, with veteran Siyabonga Nomvete thrust into his centre forward role.
City boss Bernard Molekwa seemed to have similar sentiments when he pulled Zimbabwean striker Walter Musona off and replaced him with Puleng Tlolane.
Despite throwing everything at their opponents in the final 15 minutes, Rise and Shine failed to break the deadlock, as the match petered out to a tame draw.
The Limpopo side remained stuck in 12th place on the Premiership log.
Things were no better for the Kwazulu-Natal side either. They remain trapped in the bottom half of the table, just three points clear of the drop zone.