Celtic show true grit to sneak narrow win

BLOEMFONTEIN Celtic have moved up to third place on the Absa Premiership log following their narrow 1-0 win over Maritzburg United at Dr Molemela Stadium yesterday.

Phunya Sele Sele secured the victory thanks to a first-half goal from Jacky Motshegwa and move to 15 points from nine games, while the Team of Choice drop two places to 13th with nine points from their eight outings.

The teams had little to separate them in the early minutes, with the midfield battle notable for its ferocity, and chances were scarce in the opening quarter hour.

However, in the 16th minute, Celtic claimed the ascendancy through Motshegwa, as the 29-year-old took advantage of a defensive error from the hosts to beat Richard Ofori with a wellplaced effort.

Maritzburg responded strongly to going behind, with the likes of Lebohang Maboe and Evans Rusike looking dangerous in attack, but they were unable to find a way through the hosts’ defence.

Celtic almost doubled their advantage in the 35th minute, with a patient build-up allowing midfielder Lantshene Phalane a shooting chance, but he struck his effort over the crossbar.

The second half continued in a similar vein to the first, with the teams cancelling each other out in midfield. Maritzburg made a bold tactical move by bringing on both Sheldon van Wyk and Pogiso Sanoka at the restart.

The Team of Choice gradually asserted control of proceedings in their search for an equaliser, but Celtic’s well-organised defence gave nothing away and were able to see out the 90 minutes without conceding.

The Bloemfontein team will be back in action this weekend when they face Platinum Stars in a Telkom Knockout quarterfinal, while Maritzburg will only play again on November 21 against Polokwane City.

Polokwane City and Kaizer Chiefs drew 0-0 in their match at the Peter Mokaba Stadium last night.

The draw sees Rise and Shine move up to 11th spot on the league standings, while Amakhosi remain fourth.

Rise and Shine enjoyed more possession in the opening stages of the match, but Amakhosi looked dangerous on the counter-attack.

George Maluleka found some space outside the Polokwane box in the eighth minute and he forced goalkeeper George Chigova into a comfortable low save.

The Zimbabwean shot-stopper also denied Hendrick Ekstein, who also tried his luck from range and Chigova made a comfortable save in the 12th minute.

Rodney Ramagalela, the current Absa Premiership top goalscorer with six goals, was looking lively for Rise and Shine upfront.

Amakhosi took control of the match – applying some pressure on the Rise and Shine defence with the halftime breakfast approaching. However, Polokwane managed to contain Chiefs and kept the score 0-0 at the interval following a lively first half.

Rise and Shine started the second brightly and they came very close to scoring 10 minutes after the restart.

Jabulani Maluleke’s header was pushed into Polokwane striker Rendani Ndou’s path by Iumeleng Khune following a fine cross from Ramagalela. But somehow Ndou headed wide of the target from close-range.

In the other match of the night, SuperSport United beat Golden Arrows 3-0 at the Mbombela Stadium. — SuperSport.com