SuperSport United held by Marumo Gallants as missed penalty proves costly

Cape Town — SuperSport United's push towards a second-place finish suffered a setback when they were held to a goalless draw by relegation-threatened Marumo Gallants FC in the DStv Premiership at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Tuesday evening.

The stalemate meant that the team shared the spoils, and SuperSport moved into second place on the standings at the expense of Orlando Pirates, now in third place, but the Buccaneers have a match in hand.

Gallants inched one place up the standings into 13th place in the 16-team competition. They have 28 points after 27 games and are one place above Swallows who also have 28 points but have played 25 games. Gallants have a better goal difference.

Nine minutes from the end, Bradley Grobler, SuperSport’s ace goal poacher missed a penalty, which was so vital in his team’s quest for a Champions League berth next season.

With so much at stake for both teams, a good start was important, and Gallants were first out of the blocks. They ended the first half with a slightly superior possession advantage with 54% and a greater number of shots at goal.

However, much like SuperSport none of their shots was on target, and neither side could capitalise on a limited number of set pieces. Both sides had limited but excellent scoring opportunities, but the resultant parting shots were wayward.

Gallants picked up yellow cards in the first half after referee Masixole Bambiso booked midfielder Mpambaniso Monde and defender Tshepo Gumede.

In the second half, Gallants continued to dominate and 20 minutes after the restart SuperSport hardly enjoyed a final third entry. During this stage, the game was played almost entirely in the SuperSport half.

Just past the hour mark, SuperSport managed to undo Gallants' grip on the match and managed the odd attacking sortie deep into the opposition’s half.

@Herman_Gibbs