AmaZulu grabbed a late winner as they beat Swallows 3-2 in Friday night’s hard-fought DStv Premiership fixture at the Dobsonville Stadium.
It was a combative fixture, with the teams clashing a few times, and both sides were lucky to not have players sent off.
Lindokuhle Mtshali went wide in the fifth minute, while Waseem Isaacs almost caused problems two minutes later, but Veli Mothwa was able to rush out of the box and clear as the Swallows man threatened.
Gabadinho Mhango had a good chance for Usuthu in the 10th minute but shot high and wide, while Isaacs had another opportunity at the other end two minutes later, but headed Yagan Sasman’s cross just wide of the goal.
Tshediso Patjie’s effort in the 19th minute was deflected behind, while Mothwa was quick to save Mtshali’s header from the resulting corner.
But while Swallows had the best early chances, it was Mhango who opened the scoring, with a deft finish to lob over Thakasani Mbanjwa, Mhango combining well with Keagan Buchanan to make it 1-0 to AmaZulu in the 24th minute.
Riaan Hanamub tried a long-range effort at the half-hour mark, but it flew over. The momentum was swinging in Usuthu’s favour, as Bongi Ntuli was just unable to pull off a shot in the 37th minute, while George Maluleka thought he had a penalty a minute later after going down under a tackle from Phelelani Mvelase.
With three minutes to go to halftime, Swallows were level, as debutant Keagan Allan looked to have headed in his first goal, from Patjie’s free kick, but it was awarded as an own goal by Mbongeni Gumede.
Isaacs headed wide in the opening minute of the second half, while Mtshali was on target with his free kick in the 55th minute, but Mothwa was ready for it and plucked the shot from the air.
Swallows were awarded a penalty in the 63rd minute when Mtshali went down in the box, although it seemed like Abubaker Mobara missed the tackle. Allan, having had his debut goal wiped off earlier, stepped and sent Mothwa the wrong way to get the goal.
Mhango was off target in the 77th minute, but Usuthu were level a minute later, through an own goal from Mbanjwa who fumbled Mhango’s cross into the goal.
Buchanan went close in the 83rd minute with a swerve effort that almost caught Mbanjwa out again, but this time the keeper made an excellent save. A minute later he saved again from the same player, as Usuthu pushed for another goal.
And AmaZulu grabbed the winner in the 90th minute, as Gumede scored at the right end, doing to well to sneak in between the two defenders and heading in Hanamub’s cross.
Unbeaten Usuthu move top of the DStv Premiership table with their third successive win, and are the first team to reach ten points.
In this edition of iDiski Times, we hear from Kaizer Chiefs Marketing and Commercial Director Jessica Motaung who gives a timeline for the club’s women’s team, discusses the current revival under Arther Zwane and a lot more. We assess Bongani Zungu’s return to Mamelodi Sundowns and also hear how social media star Aunty Diski went from being a fan to a game changer in both the media and football space. Shaun Bartlett reveals how his role at the helm of Cape Town Spurs was 30 years in the making. Read all this and more in iDiski Times Edition 67 below:
