A solitary goal by Mwape Musonda was enough to hand Lamontville Golden Arrows a 1-0 Absa Premiership win over Polokwane City at the Chatsworth Stadium in Durban on Saturday afternoon.

In the wake of the win, Arrows move up to the sixth spot on the log with 17 points while the Citizens are placed 11th with 12 points.

The match had a slow start, but it produced sparks in the 10th minute when Abafana Bes’thende’s goalkeeper Philani Zikalala denied the Citizens twice in the box.

Two minutes later, newly-appointed coach Clinton Larsen’s Arrows nearly bagged the lead but Kudakwashe Mahachi steered his header wide from a cross with Deon Hotto seemingly waiting in a better position to strike home.

As the match progressed towards the 20th minute mark both sides couldn’t create goalscoring opportunities and ball possession was lost easily. Arrows were awarded a set-piece and Mahachi’s attempt went straight to the keeper.

In the 24th minute, Musonda broke the deadlock when he was unmarked in the box following a pin-point cross from Mahachi and he directed his shot past keeper George Chigova to the far post.

City made strides to bounce back and Siphesihle Nzimande attempted a shot at goal aiming to catch Zikalala off guard, but his attempt went straight to the keeper’s hands.

With four minutes left to the interval, Puleng Tlolane nearly equalised as his shot hit the woodwork and Zikalala collected from the rebound off the post following a defence-splitting pass from the skipper Jabulani Maluleke.

Arrows held onto their lead going to the dressing room, however, with three minutes into the second stanza Mahachi had a chance to double their lead against the run of play but Chigova made a crucial save.

City continued to dominate and Maluleke tried a long range effort after exchanging good passes with Cole Alexander but his effort sailed wide.

In the 62nd minute, City intensified their search and Maluleke directed his pin-point set-piece to the near post, but it was fisted away for a corner by Zikalala.

Three minutes later, Tlolane became more involved in the second half when his shot hit the side of the net. Seconds later he made a great turn in the box to beat the Arrows defenders, but Zikalala read the danger and made a save.

With 20 minutes to go Substitute Mabhudi Khenyeza showed his class as he received a quality pass from Mahachi, he turned on the defender and unleashed a shot but Chigova made a great save.

The last 10 minutes of the encounter saw City failing to play their normal game as they lost the ball easily with the hosts sweeping everything that came their way.

Tlolane took a solo run from the left in the dying minutes of the match and beat his marker, but his attempt went wide over the posts and Arrows retained the three points.

Golden Arrows: (1) 1 (Musonda 24’)
Polokwane City: (0) 0

Arrows: Zikalala, Zitha, Mathiane, Sikhakhane, Katjuikua, N.Cele, Molefe (Manaka 68’), Mahachi, Fikizolo, Musonda (Khenyeza 60’), Hotto (Chapman 76’)

City: Chigova, Phungwayo (Langa 42’), Hlongwane, Mbonani, Tema, Nene (Jembula 73’), Nzimande, Maluleke, Alexander, Mncwango (Kanyenda 73’), Tlolane