AmaZulu survived a late red card as they held on to claim a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Cape Town City at Kings Park Stadium on Saturday night.
The hosts claimed the lead inside the opening five minutes as Lehlohonolo Majoro converted a contentious penalty, only for City to draw level five minutes from half-time thanks to Prince Opoku Agyemang.
And, despite being reduced to ten men late in the second half, AmaZulu managed to hold form as they claimed a share of the spoils in Durban.
The match started with some drama as AmaZulu were awarded a penalty after just three minutes of play after a foul by Taariq Fielies.
Fielies’ challenge appeared to take place just outside the box but despite vehement protests from City’s players, the referee pointed straight to the spot.
Majoro stepped up to take the spot-kick and held his nerve, slotting the ball into the bottom-left corner to give Usuthu an early lead.
Majoro tried his luck from range a five minutes later, but his effort from 35 yards out flew high and wide of the target.
AmaZulu didn’t ease up, though, as they continued to pile forward in search of a second goal.
Augustine Mulenga fired just over the bar from outside the box while at the opposite end of the pitch, City would eventually lodge their first shot on goal. However, Siya Mbatha was alert to the danger as he kept out Thabo Nodada’s drilled, low shot.
City again went close on 22 minutes but that chance too went to waste as Thamsanqa Mkhize sent a headed effort narrowly wide of the left-hand post from the centre of the box.
Mulenga remained a thorn on the City defence’s side, though, forcing a save from goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh in the 32nd minute.
But it was the home side who struck next, Agyemang latching onto Abbubaker Mobara’s slide-rule pass before hammering the ball into the top-left corner on the 40-minute mark.
And they very nearly added a second goal just before half-time as Fagrie Lakay saw his low shot saved in the bottom-left corner by Mbatha.
The second proved to be a hard-fought contest with neither side creating much in the way of goal scoring chances.
In fact, fans had to wait until the 61st minute for the first chance of note, Leeuwenburgh snapping up Siphelele Mthembu’s shot in the centre of the City goal.
However, AmaZulu’s hopes of securing all three points on offer were dealt a serious blow in the 70th minute as Majoro picked up a straight red card for a nasty challenge on Mkhize.
But, despite boasting the extra man, City were unable to unlock a stubborn AmaZulu defence in the remaining 20 minutes of the match.
Agyemang headed wide in the 79th minute from Surprise Ralani’s inswinging cross, while Morris failed to find the mark with a shot from the centre of the box in the 82nd minute.
AmaZulu had chances of their own in the closing stages of the contest but much to the relief of the Citizens, efforts from Limbikani Mzava and Sandile Khumalo failed to hit the target.
– TEAMtalk media
