Baroka FC kept their hopes of retaining their status in the PSL alive by defeating AmaZulu FC at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.
AmaZulu began the match well as they pressed Baroka, but they were wasteful with Bonginkosi Ntuli and Marc Van Heerden missing the target.
The hosts grew into the game and they should have taken the lead when Mduduzi Mdantsane was sent through on goal, but he was denied by Usuthu goalkeeper Siyabonga Mbatha.
Baroka and AmaZulu were locked at 1-1 at the interval with the two teams having failed to convert their chances.
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Mbatha and his counterpart Elvis Chipezeze were kept busy in the opening stages of the second half.
However, the deadlock was only broken with seven minutes left on the clock, and it was Tshediso Patjie, who fired the hosts into the lead.
The former Mbombela United winger beat Mbatha with a decent finish to seal Baroka's narrow 1-0 win over AmaZulu, who were unable to grab a late equaliser.
The result saw Bakgaga climb up to 12th place on the league standings, four points above the relegation zone, while Usuthu remained 11th on the table.
Meanwhile, Lamontville Golden Arrows moved closer to the top eight on the PSL standings after edging out Free State Stars at the Sugar Ray Stadium in Durban.
It took Abafana Bes'thende 18 minutes to break the deadlock after dominating the opening stages of the game, and it was Knox Mutizwa, who scored from close range make it 1-0 to Arrows.
It was soon 2-0 to Arrows when Zimbabwe international Mutizwa grabbed his brace with a curling effort which beat Stars keeper Samkelo Mbambo hands down.
However, Ea Lla Koto managed to pull one back through Sibusiso Hlubi as he beat Arrows shot-stopper Maximillian Mbaeva to make it 2-1 just- after the half-hour mark.
Arrows were leading 2-1 at the interval thanks to Mutizwa's first-half brace - taking his tally to eight league goals for the season.
Stars pushed for the equalising goal with Hlubi looking lively for the visitors, and he missed the target from a free-kick, before hitting the side-netting.
Nikola Kavazovic, the Ea Lla Koto coach, introduced striker Sibusiso Masina in the 71st minute as the away side looked to level matters.
Arrows though stood firm at the back and ultimately, they emerged 2-1 winners over Stars on the day.
The win took Abafana Bes'thende to ninth spot on the league standings - three points behind seventh-placed Kaizer Chiefs, while relegation-threatened Ea Lla Koto slipped down to 13th place.
