Absa Premiership midweek wrap: ‘Downs, Pirates continue to set the pace

by Graeme Jackson

Thursday Apr 05, 2018. 09:00

The midweek round of Absa Premiership matches saw Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates claim victories to continue setting the pace, while Kaizer Chiefs are up to third after a last-gasp away win over Free State Stars.

Sundowns and Pirates are still separated by just one point at the top – though the former have a game in hand – after they claimed respective home wins over Chippa United (2-0, thanks to goals from Percy Tau and Khama Billiat) and Bloemfontein Celtic (2-1, with Augustine Mulenga scoring a superb winner).

Chiefs kept on the fringes of the title race by moving into third with a 1-0 win at Free State Stars, with defender Teenage Hadebe netting deep into injury time, while Cape Town City are all but out of the running for the championship after a 1-0 home loss at the hands of Golden Arrows.

SuperSport United still cannot get any traction in the league after they were beaten 1-0 at Polokwane City – where Rodney Ramagalela added another goal to his collection this season – while bottom-of-the-log Platinum Stars held Baroka FC 0-0 but remain nine points from safety.

The round’s action got underway on Tuesday with Bidvest Wits continuing their renaissance with a 2-1 home win over Maritzburg United, while Ajax Cape Town slipped closer to relegation trouble as they succumbed 2-1 away to AmaZulu.

The Absa Premiership will continue with a full set of fixtures spread across the coming weekend and next midweek.

Absa Premiership, midweek results


Tuesday, April 3

AmaZulu 2-1 Ajax Cape Town

Bidvest Wits 2-1 Maritzburg United


Wednesday, April 4

Orlando Pirates 2-1 Bloemfontein Celtic

Free State Stars 0-1 Kaizer Chiefs

Mamelodi Sundowns 2-0 Chippa United

Cape Town City 0-1 Golden Arrows

Polokwane City 1-0 SuperSport United

Platinum Stars 0-0 Baroka FC