It was a Premier Soccer League (PSL) relegation dogfight on Saturday where Chippa United faced Maritzburg United and both sides were fighting to move up the log in the first game of the afternoon at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
The Chilli Boys made changes in the technical team and coach Clinton Larsen made his debut after replacing Joel Masutha, who was sacked two weeks ago.
Fresh from a loss at the hands of Orlando Pirates in their previous PSL match away at Orlando Stadium, the hosts were looking for redemption at home.
Larsen proved to be a lucky charm for the Chilli Boys as they played an entertaining brand of football and they opened the scoring in the second half following a goalless draw in the first 45 minutes.
Chippa came back stronger and left-back Tebogo Tlolane unleashed a scorcher to beat goalkeeper Richard Ofori in the 53rd minute to put the hosts ahead.
In less than 10 minutes, the Eastern Cape-based side made it 2-0 through skipper Andile Mbenyane's header in the box which beat the Ghanaian keeper on the far post.
Larsen's held on to register their first league win since beating Free State Stars at home in October 2018 and the win sees them sit in the 15th position with 16 points from 18 games.
On the other hand, a lacklustre showing by the Team of Choice leaves them at the bottom of the table with 11 points from 18 games.
In the second match of the day, Black Leopards welcomed Golden Arrows at the Thohoyandou Stadium at 20h15.
There were no goals in Thohoyandou at the end of the opening half as both sides looked for maximum points for different reasons.
Lidoda Duvha were chasing a win to move up the log table while the Durban-based side was hoping to consolidate their mid-table position.
The second half saw the visiting side find the back of the net in the 53rd minute through Lerato Lamola, but they allowed coach Dylan Kerr’s troops to bounce back.
Zambian striker Mwape Musonda levelled the score with four minutes to go and ensured that they walked away with a point in front of their home crowds.
Resulting from the stalemate, the PSL returnees moved to the 11th position with 19 points from 16 games while Steve Komphela’s troops sit 10th with 20 points from 17 matches.
