Premier Soccer League action continued on Saturday with a number of mouthwatering clashes taking centre-stage.
One game that had everyone talking was the first-ever Western Cape Derby and bragging rights belonged to Cape Town City as they walked away 1-0 victors.
Both sides were looking for their first wins of the 2019/20 Premier Soccer League (PSL) season after playing out to draws in their respective opening games.
City coach Benni McCarthy returned to the bench after missing the 2-2 draw against Baroka FC, and the Citizens looked hungry.
McCarthy kept faith in Kermit Erasmus who has already opened his goal-scoring account, and with Chris David, Bradley Ralani and Gift Links playing the ball into his path, Stellies’ defence were kept busy and on the back foot.
With City looking bright in the first half, it didn’t take long for the home side to open the scoring.
In the seventh minute of the game, David showed his quality when he worked his way into the box and placed his left-footed effort past Stellenbosch keeper Boy de Jong.
The goal motivated City to continue pressing and Erasmus was unlucky not to double his side’s advantage as his effort was kept out by De Jong and City took just the solitary goal into the half-time interval.
While the first half undoubtedly belonged to City, the second half was a much more closely fought affair.
Stellenbosch were a lot braver in their approach and this saw City survive some harrowing moments. None more so than with 15 minutes remaining in the match.
City survived a close call when Marc Van Heerden’s free-kick almost found itself in the back of the net. But a desperate last-ditch clearance saw the ball cleared before it went beyond the goal line to the relief of the City technical team.
The side from the Cape Winelands were throwing everything at their neighbours and the introduction of Waseem Isaacs towards the end proved a masterstroke by Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker.
With the game headed into stoppage time, City were left to thank the post and their goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh, as they both denied Isaacs a goal and ensured City survived by the skin of their teeth to come away with their very first win of the season.
Meanwhile, in the day’s early affair, AmaZulu suffered their second successive defeat.
Polokwane City scored a late goal which saw them walk away with a 1-0 win and kept their own 100% winning record alive.
From the onset, it was a game of fine margins with both sides looking to outsmart the other.
Usuthu head coach Cavin Johnson opted for the attacking duo of Lehlohonolo Majoro alongside Andre de Jong while Siyabonga Mbatha returned to the starting XI after missing the 3-0 drubbing in midweek at the hands of Bidvest Wits.
The attacking duo looked sharp on the day as AmaZulu bossed the game in stages but never really tested Polokwane City keeper George Chigova in the first half.
While at the other end Mbatha produced a solid save to keep his side in the game early on.
However, it was almost a self-inflicted mistake which could have put AmaZulu ahead.
Chigova failed to stop a routine backpass and watched the ball move agonisingly past the post.
With neither side able to break down the opposition, the first half ended goalless with fans wanting more in the second half.
This saw a surge in tempo on their return from the tunnel and AmaZulu looking the likelier to find the back of the net.
Rise and Shine defended resolutely and counted on playmaker Jabulani Maluleke to work his magic and he did come close from a set-piece around the hour mark.
While much was expected from Jabulani Maluleke, it was another Maluleke who had the biggest impact.
Wiseman Maluleke was introduced late in the second half, and with the game looking destined for a stalemate, he produced a moment of magic as he chested the ball down and into the path of Mohammed Anas who made no mistake, heading the ball beyond Mbatha to steal all three points.