Chilli Boys & Stellies fire blanks in East London

Chippa United and Stellenbosch cancelled each other out in a frustrating 0-0 stalemate in their latest Betway Premiership assignment at the Buffalo City Municipality Stadium on Sunday evening.
As two teams battling to get away from the relegation zone in the Betway Premiership, a case of missed chances plagued Chippa United and Stellenbosch FC throughout the 90 minutes at the East London grounds.
Stellenbosch FC dominated the opening exchanges of the game as they swiftly asserted themselves on the ball possession count. However, it was Chippa United who created the first attempt at goal, with Kerwin Peters having a go from range, which was subsequently blocked.
The Cape Winelands side continued to see more of the ball midway through the first half but battled to make the most of their forward advancements. Ashley Cupido and Thato Khiba were the attackers-in-chief for Stellenbosch as the visitors probed en route to goal.
Chippa were eager to land the first goal, as seen with attempts by Seun Ndlovu and Ayabulela Konqobe, as the home side had the better attacking opportunities in the first 45.
It was more of the same for Stellies after the restart as Devin Titus and Khiba made their intentions known early. At the other end of the pitch, Sirgio Kammies and Konqobe had their attempts saved in what was a rapid start to the second half.
Stellenbosch came close to opening the scoring in the 67th minute owing to a close-range header by Mozumuhle Khanyi, however, the forward’s effort went narrowly wide of the mark.
The away team continued to be more progressive on the ball, but often fell short at the final hurdle with the clock ticking down at the Buffalo City Municipality Stadium. Steve Barker rang in the changes as the 80th approached and turned players such as Khomotjo Lekoloane and Chumani Butsaka to make the difference.
Nonetheless, the game eventually played out to a 0-0 draw with Chippa remaining in 16th place on the table, while Stellenbosch ended the latest game week in 14th position.
Chippa United: 0
Stellenbosch FC: 0
CHIPPA UNITED: Nwabili, Kammies, Ndlovu, Fasika, Modise, Madingwana (Mfecane 74’), Seabi (Molaoa 91’), Mosele, Peters (Sithole 46’), Konqobe (Eva Nga 60’), Figuareido
STELLENBOSCH FC: Stephens, Mdaka, Mcaba, Stanic, Godswill (Mokobodi 63’), Mthiyane, Khiba (Butsaka 77’), de Jong, Titus (Barns 82’), Khanyi (Lekoloane 77’), Cupido (Mojela 63’)