DStv Premiership: SuperSport United Stalled by Stellenbosch FC

• Those connected to Orlando Pirates will be smiling from ear to ear after the latest developments in the DStv Premiership
• SuperSport United was held to a goalless draw by Stellenbosch FC on Tuesday night at TUT Stadium in Tshwane
• Following Kaizer Chiefs' loss to Swallows FC on Monday, this gave the Buccaneers more breathing room in second place on the log table

SuperSport United and Stellenbosch FC played out a goalless stalemate in their DStv Premiership match played at the TUT Stadium in Tshwane on Tuesday evening.

Both Matsatsantsa and Stellies pushed for goals through the course of the 90 minutes, but a lack of sharpness in attack – and a couple of fine saves from the hosts’ Ricardo Goss – ensured the spoils were shared.

The result saw SuperSport remain in third, a point behind second-placed Orlando Pirates (who now have a game in hand in the race to finish in second spot), while the Cape visitors are sixth and have a four-point buffer to the bottom half of the log. SuperSport took early control of the game in terms of possession and passing dominance but struggled to create chances with which to test Stellenbosch’s debutant goalkeeper Reid Bombay.

Real Madrid beat wasteful Chelsea to reach Champions League semis

Football

The hosts had to wait until midway through the first half to create a first clear opening, with Grant Margeman’s fine pass putting Ghampani Lungu in behind the defence, but the latter struck a low drive wide of the target. Stellies grew as an attacking threat as the first half wore on, with Jayden Adams showing great composure to beat Ricardo Goss and find the back of the net in the 35th minute, but the effort was ruled out due to an offside flag.

The teams were locked at 0-0 at the interval, and the opening seconds after the restart saw the visitors almost claim the lead, with Adams letting fly from just outside the box and forcing an excellent diving save from Goss. Matsatsantsa were the next to threaten, with Margeman cutting inside from the right and shooting from just outside the ‘D’ of the penalty area on 52 minutes, though his effort drifted wide.

Sevilla dump shambolic Man United out in Europa League quarters

Football

Stellenbosch opted for a quadruple change just before the hour mark, as coach Steve Barker threw on Devon Titus, Sibongiseni Mthethwa, Ibraheem Jabaar and Fawaaz Basadien in a major statement of intent. SuperSport’s Jamie Webber twice had close shaves in shooting wide of the mark, before he was one of the players subbed out in a double change which saw Thamsanqa Gabuza and Patrick Maswanganyi introduced.

Midway through the second half Stellies almost broke the deadlock via Juan Ortiz, who got on the end of a fine cross from Titus and powered a header on target, but Goss came up with another good save to keep the score level. That proved to be the last clear chance of the match, with both United and Stellenbosch left frustrated at their inability to carve out any further attacking inroads.

Stellenbosch will next be in action on Sunday 7 May when they face Sekhukhune United in the semifinal of the Nedbank Cup, while SuperSport’s next match is a league clash at home to Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday 13 May.