Polokwane City maintained their position at the top of the Motsepe Foundation Championship table after defeating Platinum City Rovers 3-1 on Wednesday afternoon at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium. Puleng Marema gave Polokwane an early lead and Mokibelo Ramabu gave them a two-goal cushion midway through the first stanza. City Rovers reduced the deficit early in the second stanza but Lebohang Nkaki sealed the deal for Rise and Shine on the hour-mark. Polokwane top the table by one point while City Rovers fell down to 12th on the standings.
FULLTIME @vendafootball 1-1 @UthongathiFC @ptacallies_fc 2-0 @Magesi_FC @polokwane_city 3-1 @PlatinumCRFC @hungry_lions_FC 1-0 @NB_LaMasiaFC MotsepeFoundationChampionship pic.twitter.com/YcA1AqLlGR
— Official PSL (@OfficialPSL) January 18, 2023
Hungry Lions ended their two-game losing run after a last-gasp 1-0 win over NB La Masia on Wednesday afternoon at Windhoek Draught Park. After a goalless first stanza and with the game almost ending with the share of the spoils, Stanley Muishond snatched the winner for Lions deep in stoppage time. The Northern Cape outfit got back to their third position on the table, five points behind leaders Polokwane City while La Masia dropped down to 13th.
Pretoria Callies revived their survival hopes after beating Magesi 2-0 on Wednesday afternoon. The Romans broke the deadlock on 24 minutes and settled the contest early in the second stanza. However, Callies remained at the bottom of the table with 11 points, two points from safety while Magesi were left lying in ninth place.
Venda Football Academy extended their winless run to four matches after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Uthongathi on Wednesday afternoon at Thohoyandou Stadium. Venda had a perfect start after Maboke Makhubela gave them the lead within the first two minutes. However, VFA were reduced to ten men just nine minutes later after captain Nhlanhla Makhubele was red-carded for a dangerous tackle. Uthongathi eventually levelled matters eight minutes before the interval courtesy of Tshepo Liphoko. VFA remained second-from-bottom on the standings while the Cane Cutters had to settle for eighth spot.
In-form Casric Stars won their fifth consecutive game after edging Cape Town Spurs 1-0 on Tuesday afternoon at Solomon Mahlangu Stadium. Thabang Rakwena broke the deadlock for Stars shortly before the interval and that was enough to hand them the maximum points. Stars consolidated their second position on the log, just a point behind table-toppers Polokwane City while Spurs dropped down to sixth.
University of Pretoria won for the first time in eight matches after a narrow 2-1 win over Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila on Tuesday afternoon at Thohoyandou Stadium. Samuel Julies broke the deadlock for AmaTuks just before the half-time break from the penalty spot and Rodney Ramagalela doubled their lead early in the second stanza. Vhadau Vha Damani pulled a goal back shortly before the hour-mark but they were undone in stoppage time as they finished the game with ten men after Bheki Fakude got a second yellow card and was sent off. AmaTuks climbed up to seventh on the log while TTM fell back to tenth.
JDR Stars bagged two consecutive victories after edging Baroka 1-0 on Tuesday afternoon at Giant Stadium. After neither side could get on target in the first stanza, Ngwepe eventually scored what proved to be the winner for the Hammerboyz with ten minutes to go. JDR went up to fourth on the standings with 24 points, six points off the top of the table while Baroka slipped down to 11th.
All Stars’ three-game winning run was halted after a goalless draw against Black Leopards on Tuesday afternoon at Bidvest Stadium. All Stars dropped down to fifth on the table with 23 points while Lidoda Duvha remained in 14th spot.
