JOHANNESBURG – Wits left it late, but did enough to earn three Premiership points when they downed Stellenbosch FC 2-1 on Wednesday evening.
The home side started the brighter, but were forced into an early change after Simon Murray limped out of action after 10 minutes.
Moment shifted midway through the half as former Kaizer Chiefs forward Ryan Moon proved to be a constant threat for Stellenbosch, but he couldn’t find the killer touch when his side pressed forward.
Iqraam Rayners nearly grabbed the Cape side a goal, which would be their first at this level, before the teams headed down the tunnel for the break.
The second 45 was another end-to-end encounter and a draw looked likely. That remained the case until the 70th minute when defender Thulani Hlatshwayo converted a Thabang Monare cross.
A minute later, Stellies grabbed the equaliser when Hlatshwayo sent the ball into the back of his own net after a probing Marc van Heerden cross.
Again, the draw looked likely until a minute from time when Gift Motupa gratefully buried the winner after some good work by Mxolisi Macuphu.
* SuperSport United continued their fine league run as they beat Baroka FC 2-0 at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.
In the 53rd minute, Bradley Grobler pounced on a loose ball to score the first goal.
The visitors doubled their lead in the 91st minute through a powerful strike by midfielder Jamie Webber.
SuperSport should have been a good few goals up at halftime, with all of Evans Rusike, Kagiso Selemela and Thamsanqa Gabuza guilty of poor finishing.
Baroka’s best scoring chance came in the 22nd minute, when SuperSport No 1 Ronwen Williams pulled off a superb save to deny Gerald Phiri Junior from scoring.
Next up for SuperSport is an MTN 8 semifinal first-leg clash against Mamelodi Sundowns in Pretoria on Sunday.
Bradley Grobler opened the scoring for SuperSport United against Baroka FC. Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
* Chippa United and Polokwane City played out to an uninspiring 0-0 draw at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday night.
Both teams struggled upfront, as goalkeepers Patrick Tignyemb (Chippa) and Cyril Chibwe (City) had little work on the evening.
Chippa are still looking for their first win of the season after three draws and a loss.
In the first half, the home side did not have a single shot on target, while Polokwane City only kept Tignyemb busy on two occasions. Chippa only had a solitary effort on target in the entire match.
Rise and Shine’s defenders Sibusiso Mbonani, Simphiwe Hlongwane and Nicholas Motloung did outstanding work to keep Chippa’s Lerato Manzini and Kurt Lentjies at bay.
Zlatko Krmpotic’s City side would be satisfied with the point in an away match.