Asanele Velebayi in action for Cape Town Spurs FILE - Asanele Velebayi in action for Cape Town Spurs. Photo: Ayanda Ndamane/African News Agency (ANA)
Cape Town Spurs kept their faint chances of avoiding relegation alive on Friday when they picked up a valuable point in their DStv Premiership game against SuperSport United on Friday night.
The game ended 0-0, but both sides had chances to win it.
Spurs needed to win the game to have a realistic chance of staying in the league, but they still have a mathematic hope, and that’s what they’ll be holding on to going into their last two games... that’s if Richards Bay don’t beat Orlando Pirates on Saturday.
The game at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane was not a classic, and Ernst Middendorp’s men were happy to sit back and let their opponents do all the playing early on.
But, Gavin Hunt’s team did not rock up with their shooting boots, and the scoring opportunities they were given were not taken.
After a slow start, things looked like they took a turn for the worse for Spurs in the 16th minute when defender Gadiel Kamagi was shown a straight red card after a last ditch tackle on Shandre Campbell. The club’s first red card of the season couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Lyle Lakay’s free kick from the edge of the 18-yard area came to nothing, and was easily collected by Neil Boshoff.
As the game went on, Matsatsantsa tried to make their numerical advantage count, but were kept out by desperate defending from the side from the Mother City.
SuperSport were almost caught napping in the 36th minute when Spurs’ Chumani Butsaka was able to get the shot away after he picked up a loss pass in the box, but he dragged his effort wide.
At the break, the scores were level at 0-0.
When the second half started, SuperSport United struggled to break down the 10 men, and Spurs were seemingly happy to just sit back and try to catch their opponents on the break.
With time running out, SuperSport almost found the back of the net when Campbell delivered a lovely cross into the box. With the goal begging, the ever-reliable Bradley Grobler put his effort wide, much to the relief of the Urban Warriors.
A few minutes later, SuperSport had another brilliant opportunity to kill off the tie and send Cape Town Spurs to the second tier, but some desperate defending kept the scores level.
In the end, both teams had to settle for a point as the game ended goalless. As a result, bottom side Spurs trail Richards Bay by five points. Spurs’ stay in the league will be over should Richards Bay beat Orlando Pirates on Saturday.
IOL Sport
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