Thuso Phala’s solitary strike was enough to hand SuperSport United a 1-0 victory against Bidvest Wits in an Absa Premiership encounter at the Bidvest Stadium on Tuesday evening, writes MARSHALL GOUTS.
Gavin Hunt made six changes to his side that played to a 1-1 draw against Cape Town City in their last tie. Bongani Khumalo, Thabang Monare, Elias Pelembe, Daine Klate, Eleazar Rodgers and Gabadinho Mhango were drafted in place of Thulani Hlatswayo, Ben Motshwari, Phakamani Mahlambi, Mogakolodi Ngele and Cuthbert Malajila.
Stuart Baxter was not on the SuperSport United bench after being admitted to hospital, but assistant coach Kaitano Tembo made only two changes to the squad that defeated Kaizer Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup, with Ronwen Williams and Aubrey Modiba replacing Reyaad Pieterse and Reneilwe Letsholoyane respectively.
Both sides started positively and made their attacking intentions clear from the offset, but a tight midfield battle ensued as both teams had little room to manoeuvre in the middle of the park.
Mhango proved problematic for the SuperSport defence with his pace and off-the-ball movement, but was often let down by some poor-decision making in the final third.
Wits deployed the long-ball strategy with Rodgers serving as the target-man, while the visitors looked to utilise the pace of Thuso Phala and Modiba to catch Wits on the break.
Neither side had much joy in the attacking areas, with both sides content to not concede, rather than commit numbers forward in search of the opener.
Klate came agonisingly close to open the scoring in the 28th minute, but the onrushing Ronwen Williams did well to stop the midfielder in his tracks.
SuperSport defender Morgan Gould should have given his side the lead in the 35th minute when he rose highest to meet a corner, but his effort went wide of the mark, before Ronwen Williams pulled off the save of the match to deny Mhango from close range, as the two teams went into the half-time deadlocked at 0-0.
The hosts emerged in the second half with more patience in their attacking build-ups, and came close from respective efforts by Klate and Mhango.
However, it was SuperSport who took the lead in the 67th minute when Phala pounced on a defensive error to give his side a 1-0 lead.
SuperSport had a glorious opportunity to seal the tie in the 79th minute when Jeremy Brockie was put through on goal, but goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs made an excellent save to deny the forward.
Wits threw numbers forward in search of the equaliser, but failed to find a way past a resilient SuperSport defence that claimed an important 1-0 victory.
Meanwhile, Mamelodi Sundowns kept their title hopes alive with a comfortable 2-0 victory against Ajax Cape Town at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium, with Percy Tau and Themba Zwane netting for the home side.
Polokwane City defeated Golden Arrows 3-1 at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, with Jabulani Maluleke netting either side of Musa Bilankulu’s first-half penalty, before Vusimuzi Mngomezulu wrapped up the three points for Rise and Shine.
Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
