Itumeleng Khune of Kaizer Chiefs challenged by Jeremy Brockie of Mamelodi Sundowns during the Absa Premiership 2017/18 match between Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns at FNB Stadium, Johannesburg South Africa on 27 January 2018 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
by
Graeme Jackson
Monday Jan 29, 2018. 09:30
The weekend’s Absa Premiership action saw Cape Town City miss out on the chance to cut Mamelodi Sundowns’ lead at the top of the table, while Platinum Stars have fallen deeper into the mire.
Sundowns were held 0-0 by Kaizer Chiefs in front of a big crowd at FNB Stadium on Saturday night, with the two heavyweights cancelling each other out. The match featured few scoring chances, though the Brazilians twice hit the woodwork in the latter stages.
City played on Sunday and could have cut Sundowns’ lead to two points, but they were held 1-1 at Bloemfontein Celtic, leaving Pitso Mosimane’s team four points clear ahead of the leading duo’s meeting in Cape Town next weekend.
Sunday also saw Baroka FC claim a 2-2 draw away to Golden Arrows to remain in the top eight of the standings.
The round got underway with two matches on Friday night, as Chippa United came from a goal down to claim a 1-1 draw with Maritzburg United at Harry Gwala Stadium, while relegation-threatened Ajax Cape Town failed to make the most of home advantage in their goalless draw with Free State Stars.
Saturday’s afternoon matches saw AmaZulu keep up their recent defensive resilience, as they recorded a third straight clean sheet in a goalless draw at Polokwane City, while Orlando Pirates celebrated the 70th birthday of chairman Irvin Khoza with a 2-0 victory at Platinum Stars.
Pirates have won three of their last four league matches, and the same can be said of champions Bidvest Wits, who came from a goal down to hammer SuperSport United 4-1 in Tshwane in the early evening game.
While the Clever Boys have claimed 10 points from the last 12 up for grabs, Matsatsantsa have managed just one win in their last 12 league matches, claiming just eight points from a possible 36 in the sequence.
The Absa Premiership will continue with midweek catch-up matches - SuperSport v AmaZulu and Ajax v Pirates - before another full round of fixtures next weekend, February 2-4.
Absa Premiership weekend results
Friday 26 January
Maritzburg United 1-1 Chippa United
Ajax Cape Town 0-0 Free State Stars
Saturday 27 January
Platinum Stars 0-2 Orlando Pirates
Polokwane City 0-0 AmaZulu
SuperSport United 1-4 Bidvest Wits
Kaizer Chiefs 0-0 Mamelodi Sundowns
Sunday 28 January
Golden Arrows 2-2 Baroka FC
Bloemfontein Celtic 1-1 Cape Town City
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