Bloemfontein Celtic and Chippa United were forced to share the spoils after playing out to a goalless draw at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Sunday, writes Dylan Appolis.

Teboho Moloi’s side came into the clash off the back of a 1-1 draw with SuperSport United in their previous Absa Premiership match.

Meanwhile, Veselin Jelusic’s men suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Baroka in their previous encounter on Wednesday.

The encounter got off to a slow start as both sides looked to find their rhythm in the opening exchanges of the match.

The Chilli Boys had the first opportunity of the match in the 20th minute when Sizwe Mdlinzo unleashed a long-range strike at goal, but the attacking midfielder’s effort flew over the crossbar.

The home side nearly took the lead in the 38th minute when Kurt Lentjies picked out James Okwuosathe with his corner before the Nigerian headed his effort towards goal, but the defender was ultimately denied by the woodwork.

The match went into the half time interval with the scoreline locked at 0-0.

Moloi opted to make a substitution in the 53rd minute by introducing Zephaniah Mbokoma to replace Mpho Mvelase.

Chippa came close to scoring in the 60th minute when Okwuosa latched onto Lentjies free-kick before headering his effort wide of the target.

The pair linked up again three minutes later as Okwuosa this time set up Lentjies, who fired his shot across the face of goal and wide of the target.

Ndumiso Mabena came close to breaking the deadlock in the 71st minute, but the striker’s header narrowly missed the target.

The home side should’ve taken the lead in the 86th minute after Lerato Manzini hit the woodwork with his strike at goal.

However, both sides pressed forward in search of a winning goal in the closing stages of the match, but were forced to settle for a point each at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.