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Johannesburg - The floodlights went out at the Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday night before the victory hopes of Maritzburg United and SuperSport United were dimmed in a vacillating, topsy-turvy 2-2 Premier League draw.
A draw was not the result either side wanted after the hard-running, action-packed but sometimes ungainly game was delayed for 45 minutes by the power failure.
Three-times PSL champions SuperSport's hopes of a record fourth successive title faded further as they found themselves a daunting 10 points behind current log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, with little sign they are capable of making up the substantial leeway.
And while Maritzburg again provided problems for one of Pretoria's high-profiled clubs - they eliminated Sundowns from the Telkom Cup Knockout Cup over the weekend - they remain too close to the relegation zone for comfort.
For all this, both sides seemed poised to win at different stages of the game, with SuperSport gaining a 1-0 lead through Jabu Maluleke's first scorching, free-kick goal in the 15th minute and Maritzburg hitting back dramatically midway through the second period with two goals in the space of two minutes from the sprightly Rudolf Bester and Diyo Sibisi.
But with Maritzburg rampant and looking as though they were poised to upset the champions, Maluleke popped up to record the equaliser with his second goal of the game.
Both sides found themselves without key players as a result of injuries ad suspensions and this accounted for some flaws in their make-up.
But the small, noisy crowd, who braved the early black-out, provided a positive, electric atmosphere to the proceedings and demonstrated that the Maritzburg side's following is on the rise after the entry into the Telkom Cup semi-finals.
SuperSport maintained a dominant unbeaten record against Maritzburg in a matter of nine game thus far, having won five times on these occasions and drawn four times. But this must have been scant comfort for a side seeking to regain a waning reputation.
