Cape Town — Chippa United held Cape Town City FC to a 1-all draw at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday afternoon.
Both goals were scored in the first half of this DStv Premiership clash. City and Chippa each have 20 points on the log, but City are in 8th position thanks to a superior difference. Chippa are in 10th place.
City enjoyed the upper hand in the first half, but they were on level terms with hosts Chippa by the time referee Michael Mosemeng blew for half time.
The visiting City created early pressure, but they had to wait for the 28th minute to open the scoring. City's midfield played the ball to various parts of the field in the hope of pulling Chippa's defence out of shape. After a 14-pass move, they sent Cameroonian Bertrand Mani clear on the right flank.
Once Mani outsprinted the chasing Chippa defence, he slipped the ball inside into the penalty area when his countryman Fidel Ambina met the ball with a first-time drive. His shot ricocheted off Chippa defender Justice Chabalala and into the goals. Later, match officials confirmed it was an own goal rather than credit Ambina.
The outspoken Chippa coach Morgan Mammila played his trump card just ahead of the break when he made a double substitution and five minutes later it made dividends with the equaliser.
Diego Appollis and Andile Mbenyane made way for Nigerian Etiosa Ighodaro and Siphelele Luthuli. Ighodaro was only five minutes on the field, and he headed Chippa's opening goal. Ighodaro out-jumped the City defence to connect with a speculative cross-field kick into the penalty box by Azola Ntsabo, Chippa's central defender.
Backed by greater possession, City's pressure forced three first-half corners, but they failed to take advantage of these deadball platforms. Chippa, surprisingly on defence for the greater part of the opening stanza, had more shots at goal than City. Chippa led this count 6-4.
In the second half, City was first to threaten and just ahead of the hour mark, the Cameroonian duo Ambina and Mani again combined but this time the ball spun wide of the target.
In another match in Cape Town, hosts Stellenbosch went down 1-0 to visitors Sekhukhune United at the Danie Craven Stadium in the Winelands.
Nigerian Chibuike Ohizu scored the only goal in the match in the 34th minute.