MARITZBURG CLAIM DERBY DRAW
17 January 2021
Maritzburg United had to battle hard for a point against AmaZulu in a 0-0 DStv Premiership KwaZulu-Natal derby at the Kings Park Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
While the opening half was quite evenly balanced, Usuthu were on top for most of the second half and it took some focussed defending and some excellent goalkeeping from Man-of-the-Match Jethren Barr to claim a draw.
Although AmaZulu enjoyed the better of first half possession, Maritzburg were able to create some good scoring chances for themselves.
The first arrived in the seventh minute when Thabiso Kutumela found a pocket of space outside the AmaZulu box before unleashing a low shot which was well saved by Veli Mothwa. Seven minutes later and Kutumela was not far off with a free kick.
Then in the 23rd minute Judas Moseamedi showed good strength to capitalise on a loose pass by the hosts, but under pressure he was unable to get his shot on target.
AmaZulu came close with a shot from Xola Mlambo, whose effort was inches from going in the top corner.
Moseamedi had another opportunity five minutes before half time after being played in by Kutumela, but from a tight angle he was unable to beat Mothwa.
At the other end, there was an escape for the Team of Choice a few minutes before the break when Lehlohonolo Majoro's shot from 12-yards out smashed the upright.
A couple of minutes after half time Majoro was released through on goal by Mlambo, but Barr stood firm to make a superb save to keep the scores level.
Barr also saved from Tshepo Masilela as AmaZulu continued to probe for a goal.
And as the second half wore on, Barr became increasingly busy as Usuthu upped the pressure even further.
The Maritzburg keeper was up to the challenge though and he made a couple of excellent saves, including a free kick from Thapelo Xoki and a snap shot from Augustine Mulenga as United held on for a derby point.
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