BONGANI MALUNGA
Zebras captain Thatayaone Ditlhokwe formed a solid defensive unit alongside his fellow Supersport United defenders as they held DSTV Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns to a 0-0 draw this past weekend. The draw keeps Supersport United within touching distance of league leaders Sundowns after 11 games, a defeat would have opened up a five point gap between the two and this would have put Ditlhokwe’s club in an unfavourable position.
As the league leaders and title holders, opening a comfortable gap would boost Sundowns’ push for yet another title but denying them a point has seen Matsatsantsa give themselves hope in terms of challenging for the title with only two points separating the teams at the moment. Supersport
also became only the second team to prevent Sundowns from scoring in the league this season.
The Tshwane Derby was a rather cagey affair as Supersport reluctantly had to sit back and absorb Sundowns’ pressure. Ditlhokwe played a crucial role as he blocked a goal bound effort in the 57th minute, the block drew protests from Sundowns players as they felt that Ditlhokwe had handled the ball inside the penalty area but their appeals were waved by the referee as play continued.
Overall Supersport were able to restrict Downs to just two shots on target throughout the game, the defensive unit was able to keep the likes of Themba Zwane, Peter Shalulile and Gaston Sirino at bay with well timed tackles, interceptions and clearances on what seemed to be a long day for them. Supersport’s next game will be against Amazulu on Wednesday (today).