AmaZulu grind out victory over Rise & Shine

Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya © Backpage Pix

AmaZulu continued their impressive win streak in the Betway Premiership this week following a hard-fought 1-0 triumph over Polokwane City at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday night.

Usuthu took the pragmatic approach in their latest Betway Premiership assignment, as Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya’s early first-half goal separated the two sides on the day. The away side noted their third win on the spin to go level on points with second-placed Orlando Pirates.

AmaZulu broke the deadlock in the third minute from a set-piece situation following a positive start to the game. With the ball played in from the right-hand side of the pitch by Nkosikhona Radebe, Ngwena found the back of the net with an accurate header toward the near post.

While Polokwane City created a couple of scoring chances leading up to the 20th minute mark, AmaZulu sat back in soaking up the pressure as they looked to hit the home side on the break.

AmaZulu grew into the game as the halftime whistle approached and often looked to cause damage with direct crosses into the area.

Rise and Shine came agonisingly close to leveling matters in the 44th minute after a chaotic scramble inside the area as Tidimalo Molokwane struck the upright with a scruffy shot on the edge of the six-yard box.

There was little to separate the two sides during the first 10 minutes of the second-half as neither were able to carve out any clear-cut scoring chances. Rise & Shine however, enjoyed more of the ball as AmaZulu's attacking intensity dropped considerably.

Polokwane City continued to smother AmaZulu each time they crossed the half-way line while the away side kicked into game-management mode by defending on the edge of their area during the final quarter of the game.

The home side penetrated the AmaZulu box on numerous occasions moments before the 90th minute mark but battled to make their chances stick with AmaZulu defending aggressively in and around their penalty area.

AmaZulu were presented with one more chance during stoppage time after Hendrik Ekstein fired the ball straight into the goalkeeper’s hands after a swift counter-attack. Nonetheless, AmaZulu managed to hold on to bag maximum points on away soil.

Polokwane City: 0

AmaZulu: (1) 1 (Ngwenya 4’)

Polokwane City: Masuluke, Modise, Nkaki, Ramaja, Mashele (Malatsi 75’), Kambala, Philander (Mashini 66’), Kapomotse (Mnguni 46’), Matube, Dlamini (Sebone 55’), Molokwane

AmaZulu: Mzimela, Mthethwa, Fielies, Hanamub, Mdaka, Radebe, Hlangabeza, Zikhali (Zikhali 58’), Mbanjwa (Ekstein 79’), Maqokola (Sithole 70’), Ngwenya (Mashigo 70’, Maduna 79’)