The Chilli Boys beat Usuthu by 2-1 at the Buffalo City Municipal Stadium on Saturday.

The win leaves them hot on the heels of the KwaZulu-Natal outfit with only two points separating the two sides, with Chippa still having three games in hand over Usuthu.

Goals from Enock Sekala Junior and Craig Martin cancelled out Tshepang Moremi’s consolation goal as Thabo September and his chargers inched closer to the top half of the table.

A lapse of concentration by Wayde Joorste opened the door for the homeside's first wave of attack and called into action for the first time in the match; Veli Mothwa was still settling into the game but his perried save back into the danger area found Sekala alert and sharp to finish with precision, handing Chippa the lead.

In front of what was a lively Buffalo City crowd that continued to flock into the stadium for large parts of the first half, their beloved Chilli Boys made a significant move towards their second win in five matches as they took a lead that put them on the front foot for the remainder of the half.

The visitors were pushing hard but the puzzles weren’t just fitting and as their top eight hopes were coming under increasing pressure with a few chances in between, and all the signs were pointing towards a long day at the office for Arthur Zwane and his chargers.

Both teams are vying for what would be a prized top eight position that they haven’t had a taste of for the last two seasons.

In fact, the Chilli Boys last achieved that feat since the 2015/16 season and failure to qualify this season would make it their ninth consecutive season without getting a taste for MTN8 competition.

Usuthu, on the other hand, has conceded 32 goals this season, the second worst record behind 14th-placed Marumo Gallants. Without so many goals, they probably could be better placed than they were heading into this match.