AmaZulu’s woes continued when they were held 0-0 by SuperSport United in a Premier Soccer League match at Jonsson Kings Park Stadium on Tuesday.
It was a match where both sides ended the match with 10 men following red cards to defendersTercious Malepe and Luke Fleurs.
After three rounds of matches, AmaZulu remain winless with a defeat and two draws, placed second from bottom.
On the other hand, Matsatsantsa climbed up two rungs on the table to second spot, two points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.
Usuthu went into this match looking for their first win of the season and coach Benni McCarthy opted to start Siphelele Mthembu as a lone striker while Lehlohonolo Majoro started from the bench.
Former Orlando Pirates star Augustine Mulenga was out injured in what limited McCarthy’s options upfront.
Missing in the SuperSport squad was midfielder Sipho Mbule, who has a shoulder problem which saw Kuda Mahachi making his first start of the season.
Experienced defender Buhle Mkhwanazi started from the bench as coach Kaitano Tembo preferred the centre-back pairing of Fleurs and Thatayaone Ditlhokwe while midfielder Thamsanqa Gabuza also came off the bench.
Both sides started the match struggling to penetrate each other and in the 15th minute, Kuda Mahachi got SuperSport’s first chance of the match but shot straight at Usuthu goalkeeper Veli Mothwa.
AmaZulu’s woes upfront manifested themselves as it took 26 minutes for them to have a first realistic chance at goal when Ronwen Williams did well to tip over the bar a Thabo Qalinge effort.
The hosts appeared to have then gained some momentum going forward as two minutes later, Siyethemba Sithebe missed the target while attempting to connect a Malepe cross from the left flank.
Another chance presented itself for Usuthu on the half-hour mark but midfielder Tshepang Moremi missed the target by a whisker with a grounder.
Amid some pressure from AmaZulu, SuperSport tried to make a foray at the other end but Iqraam Rayners was denied by Mothwa in a one-on-one situation.
After the teams went for the half-time break goalless, a stadium lighting problem delayed the start of the second stanza with Tembo returning to replace Mahachi with Gabuza.
The former Orlando Pirates player made his first meaningful contribution eight minutes after his introduction by setting up Bradley Grobler who shot just wide.
Grobler then tried to make amends shortly after, but Mothwa impressively saved his headed effort off a corner kick.
As the match dragged on without goals, a seemingly frustrated McCarthy could be heard raging with anger on the bench directing some strong words at Kaitano Tembo.
More frustration was to come for McCarthy as he witnessed the visitors enjoying a patch of dominance, before he watched Mthembu’s curler going just wide.
As McCarthy continued to rant on the touchline, it only got worse for him when AmaZulu were reduced to 10 men in the 74th minute after Malepe was shown a straight red card for a lunge on Jamie Webber.
With four minutes remaining, SuperSport tried to exploit their opponents’ numerical disadvantage and almost stole the day but Rayners blew Giuly Manziba’s cross over the bar at close range.
But the two sides became level on numbers again when Fleurs was red-carded with a minute to go for elbowing Sithebe before the match ended goalless.
