Durban — Guily Manziba scored with the final kick of the match and rescued a point for AmaZulu as they played out to a 1-1 draw with Maritzburg United at the Harry Gwala Stadium on Friday evening.
This result means Usuthu moved up a place into sixth spot in the DStv Premiership while Maritzburg are just a point above the relegation zone in 14th place.
Ghanaian striker Kwame Peprah marked his debut for The Team of Choice with a well-taken headed goal in the 32nd minute.
The 22-year-old forward, on loan from Orlando Pirates, did well to avoid Usuthu’s off-side trap and lurked behind the visitor’s defence before being found with a well-weighted cross and he expertly headed past Veli Mothwa.
Manziba came off the bench to steal a result for Usuthu as he capitalised on good work by Pule Ekstein and fired into a packed Maritzburg goal.
Wet conditions in Pietermaritzburg contributed to a lively opening stanza with both teams going full throttle trying to establish the early advantage in a raucous atmosphere.
While Maritzburg found the opener, it was Usuthu who looked more likely to break the deadlock with their best chance falling to the unlikely figure of Abubeker Mobara in the 21st minute.
The center-back looked to pounce on a poor clearance on the edge of the Maritzburg box but his first-time bullet was spectacularly palmed over the bar.
For AmaZulu, the pressure to win the match and maintain their place in the top eight seemed evident as coach Romain Folz rang the changes at half-time, bringing on Keagan Buchanan and Ekstein for Tercious Malepe and Dumisani Zuma.
The unstable nature of proceedings in the second half seemed to suit the home side who bided their time with resolute defending before breaking into spaces on the counter-attack.
Try as they might, Usuthu lacked a cutting edge in the final third for the majority of the match and therefore could not break down a well-drilled Maritzburg side until Manziba’s heroics.