SuperSport United and Stellenbosch FC played out a goalless stalemate in their DStv Premiership match played at the TUT Stadium 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.
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.
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.
SuperSport United 0
Stellenbosch FC 0
SuperSport: Goss, Johannes, Hlatshwayo, Ditlhokwe, Bhasera, Webber (Maswanganyi 63’), Margeman, Ndlovu, Maseko (Gabuza 63’), Lungu, Grobler (Lepasa 74’)
Stellenbosch: Bombay, Jurgens, Sobiech, Sibiya, Sibande, Van Wyk (Titus 59’), Mgaga (Jabaar 59’), Nduli (Mthethwa 59’), Ortiz (Boji 72’), Mngomezulu (Basadien 59’), Adams
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