Staff Reporter.
Maritzburg United staged a late comeback to earn a 1-1 draw against Sekhukhune United in their DStv Premiership opener on Saturday evening at the Harry Gwala Stadium.
Sekhukhune United got off to a bright start with captain Linda Mntambo recording the first effort at goal, however, his shot went narrowly wide.
The hosts pressed on soon thereafter, with King Ndlovu summoned to make a spectacular save in the third minute of the encounter. As the first five minutes of the game commenced, Sekhukhune saw more of the ball.
Maritzburg were then awarded a corner in the 6th minute, conceded by Toaster Nsabata, however the visitors dealt with the pressure.
Sekhukhune United looked dangerous from set plays early on, winning a couple of free-kicks in the attacking half. On both occasions, Maritzburg managed to defend the situation while under pressure.
The travelling side opened the scoring in the 15th minute, as Tshegofatso Mabasa capatlized on a mishap by Ndlovu, who mistimed the bounce of the ball following a lobbed effort into the area.
As the half-hour mark approached, Sekhukhune United surrendered some of the ball possession statistics, however the home team struggled to penetrate the opposition defence.
Maritzburg showed signs of positivity towards the end of the first half, putting a string off passes together in the Sekhukhune United half.
The Team of Choice ended the first-half on a high, carving out a number of goal scoring chances, however the visitors held on as the first 45 ended in their favour by the solitary strike.
Sekhukhune United began the second half on the front foot, with Ndlovu called to make a telling save within the first five minutes after the restart.
The game entered somewhat of a dry spell after the break, with neither side making any progress on an attacking front. However, the visitors recorded three corners in succession soon after the hour-mark but failed to make the most of the set-pieces afforded to them.
Maritzburg piled on the pressure with around 20 minutes to go, with Brandon Theron being the main outlet of attack on the right hand flank.
Babina Noko kicked into game management mode with 10 minutes to go and looked to defend their slender goal advantage. Maritzburg found openings on both the left and right wing but was unable to cause damage inside the penalty area.
The Team of Choice were awarded a penalty in the 81st minute of the game, as Theron was brought down in the area. Nsabata saved Bongikosi Makume’s strike from the spot, however, Bongani Sam was on hand to pounce on a loose ball inside the area and equalized.
As the referee blew the final whistle, the game ended in a 1-1 stalemate at the Harry Gwala Stadium.