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Johannesburg - Santos will be disappointed with two dropped points as they played out to a 1-1 draw with AmaZulu at the Athlone Stadium on Saturday night.
The Cape side had the better of the chances in the second half, after both teams fired blanks in the opening 45 minutes.
Despite the extremely blustery conditions, both sides tried their utmost to play neat carpet football.
Santos' play was marked by excellent organisation and discipline in defence which made it very difficult for the KZN side to get even a sniff at goal.
However, the Cape side were not able to fare much better with their own attacking endeavours - early play was characterised by midfield tussles and a lack of goal scoring opportunities.
While Erwin Isaacs and Salmaan King looked sharp for the Peoples' Team, they were, for the most part, starved of possession, especially in areas where they needed it most.
There was, in fact, only one chance in the opening stanza, which fell to Jurie Basie three minutes before the break. But as he stormed into the box at full speed, he was unable to find the target with a header as he got on the end of Gregory Roelf's cross.
The spark of inspiration which had been absent, finally arrived in the 49th minute as Isaacs scurried down the right and delivered a perfect cross for King, who didn't make the cleanest connection with his head, but did enough to steer the ball inside the near post.
But their lead was only to last until the 57th minute as Marc van Heerden struck with a superb free kick from out near the touchline, catching out Tshepo Motsoeneng at his near post.
Following the equaliser, Santos came storming back and put the AmaZulu defence under some pressure as Isaacs had a shot saved and then King failed to get enough power with a shot at the back post before Roelf shot wide from inside the box.
With eight minutes to go, Motsoeneng had to react smartly to ensure van Heerden didn't grab his second with a scorching 30-yard effort, while soon after Usuthu's Mbongeni Mzimela also came to his side's rescue when he saved from Sekou Camara as the big striker bore down on goal.
In the end, Santos just couldn't break down the AmaZulu defence for a second time and were left frustrated when the final whistle blew.
The Cape side had the better of the chances in the second half, after both teams fired blanks in the opening 45 minutes.
Despite the extremely blustery conditions, both sides tried their utmost to play neat carpet football.
Santos' play was marked by excellent organisation and discipline in defence which made it very difficult for the KZN side to get even a sniff at goal.
However, the Cape side were not able to fare much better with their own attacking endeavours - early play was characterised by midfield tussles and a lack of goal scoring opportunities.
While Erwin Isaacs and Salmaan King looked sharp for the Peoples' Team, they were, for the most part, starved of possession, especially in areas where they needed it most.
There was, in fact, only one chance in the opening stanza, which fell to Jurie Basie three minutes before the break. But as he stormed into the box at full speed, he was unable to find the target with a header as he got on the end of Gregory Roelf's cross.
The spark of inspiration which had been absent, finally arrived in the 49th minute as Isaacs scurried down the right and delivered a perfect cross for King, who didn't make the cleanest connection with his head, but did enough to steer the ball inside the near post.
But their lead was only to last until the 57th minute as Marc van Heerden struck with a superb free kick from out near the touchline, catching out Tshepo Motsoeneng at his near post.
Following the equaliser, Santos came storming back and put the AmaZulu defence under some pressure as Isaacs had a shot saved and then King failed to get enough power with a shot at the back post before Roelf shot wide from inside the box.
With eight minutes to go, Motsoeneng had to react smartly to ensure van Heerden didn't grab his second with a scorching 30-yard effort, while soon after Usuthu's Mbongeni Mzimela also came to his side's rescue when he saved from Sekou Camara as the big striker bore down on goal.
In the end, Santos just couldn't break down the AmaZulu defence for a second time and were left frustrated when the final whistle blew.
