Golden Arrows hold on to draw with Sundowns, Gallants out of relegation zone

Durban — Golden Arrows survived a late siege to draw 1-1 with champions Mamelodi Sundowns at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban on Wednesday evening.

Abafana Bes’thende cemented their place in the top eight while The Brazilians failed to win for a third game in a row.

Ex-Kaizer Chiefs man Ryan Moon scored his second goal in as many matches as he broke the deadlock for the host, finishing well inside the box in the 23rd minute.

The 26-year-old positioned himself well and was found by Divine Lunga’s pass and he made no mistake powering his shot past Ronwen Williams in goal.

Sipho Mbule, who came on in the first half for an injured Bongani Zungu levelled for the visitors halfway through the second half as he headed home from a corner.

A somewhat misfiring Sundowns outfit travelled to Durban looking to end their unfamiliarly blunt recent history having not scored in their last two league matches.

Having been rested in their second of two consecutive draws against Swallows FC, Cassius Mailula was reintroduced into the starting line-up and entrusted to lead the line alongside Hashim Domingo and Abubeker Nassir with Peter Shalulile on the bench.

For the hosts, it was a case of continuation as the technical team fielded almost the exact team that overcame Richard’s Bay last Saturday, with Pule Mmodi and Neverdie Makhubela replaced by Lungelo Dube and Nqubeko Dlamini.

The intention to defend deep and cause problems on the counterattack was clear from the get-go by the home team and they doubled up on wing backs and shut down passing channels in the middle of the park.

The first stanza saw Arrows get the most success with their strategies as they restricted Sundowns to a few chances and grabbed the only goal of the half in a highly competitive affair.

The two teams could not be separated in the second half even with a barrage of chances and opted to share the spoils.

While at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, Ranga Chivaviro scored a hat trick as Marumo Gallants jumped out of the relegation zone as they beat Chippa United 3-1, sending the Chilli Boys into 15th place.

@ScribeSmiso