Staff Reporter.
Marumo Gallants and Kaizer Chiefs played to a goalless draw in their DStv Premiership clash at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday evening.
Gallants are still waiting for their first league win of the season and only rise off the foot of the table thanks to goal difference, while Chiefs have gone three matches without a victory and sit in a lowly 13th place – a full eight points off the pace set by leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.
The home side looked to dominate early on and Katlego Otladisa forced a great save from Daniel Akpeyi in the 14th minute with a well-taken header.
By the half-hour mark Gallants had three shots whereas Chiefs had none after Celimpilo Ngema’s was routinely saved by Akpeyi.
The second stanza saw Chiefs make a tactical switch, with Bernard Parker replacing Lebogang Manyama in attack, though Gallants continued to create more going forward, including a header wide of goal from Ngema after meeting Thabo Mnyamane’s cross on 52 minutes.
Chiefs gradually began to find more rhythm in attack, with Keagen Dolly seeing more of the ball and trying to orchestrate passing moves, while Khama Billiat was the repeated victim of some tough tackling from the hosts’ defenders, but continued to drive forward whenever given the chance.
That, however, did not change in the second half as Chiefs struggled to carve out chances without a recognised striker in the attack.
Chiefs were dealt a blow in the 75th minute when Sifiso Hlanti was shown a second yellow card for his second bookable offence on the tricky Otladisa.
A moment later, Gallants midfielder Mnyamane rose well to meet a free-kick and managed a powerful which Akpeyi pushed out.
Ngema himself was then dismissed in the 80th minute, shown a straight red card for unnecessarily kicking a loose ball at a prone Billiat – the Zimbabwean made the most of the incident, but a sending off was the correct call regardless.
At 10 men apiece, the game could have opened up in the dying minutes, but neither side was able to seize the initiative and claim what would have been a morale-boosting win
Meanwhile Royal AM secured their third successive DStv Premiership victory when they overcame TS Galaxy 4-2 at the Chatsworth Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The victory saw Thwihli Thwahla leapfrog Orlando Pirates into fourth place on the league standings, while the Rockets, who are still winless this season, remained 15th on the log.