Atteridgeville - SuperSport United came from a goal down to grab a 2-1 victory over PSL strugglers Chippa United at the Lucas Moripe Stadium here on Wednesday evening.
Chippa's William Twala netted a first half penalty, before Bevan Fransman equalised and Bradley Grobler added the second to secure the vital win for SuperSport, who extend their unbeaten league run to eight matches.
The match served as a catch-up game for Matsatsantsa, who progressed to the next round of the CAF Confederation Cup at the weekend with a 2-0 win over Angolan side Petro Atletico.
After a quiet opening 15 minutes, Chippa were the first with a real opportunity, when William Twala outmuscled a SuperSport defender deep in the hosts' half, before Twala got a shot away, but missed the mark.
Chippa kept up the pressure and were soon rewarded with another chance when Benjani Mwaruwari picked up a loose ball inside SuperSport's area, danced around his marker, before getting a shot away from in front of goal, but instead skied his effort high and wide of Ronwen Williams's goal.
SuperSport had no answer for Chippa's attack and had their problems compounded on the half-hour mark when Grant Kekana brought down Mbekile Asavela inside the area, leaving referee Daniel Bennett with no choice but to award the penalty and a subsequent booking for Kekana.
Twala stepped up and sent Williams the wrong way, slotting home into the bottom right of goal to hand the visitors the advantage.
With chances a rarity for SuperSport in the first half, they came out firing after the interval and had Maluleka go close inside 90 seconds, before he forced a nervy stop from Kassally in the 54th to deny the hosts the equaliser.
A minute later however, Fransman headed home from a Sameegh Doutie corner to cancel Chippa's first half strike.
The Cape side replied with a chance of their own, but Asavela failed to trouble Williams, blasting wide from close-range after some good work to break free of his marker in the area.
With 19 minutes left on the clock, Doutie missed a golden opportunity to take the lead for SuperSport when Innocent Mdledle delivered an accurate ball toward the back post, only for Doutie to miscue his volley straight at Kassally, who made a
comfortable stop.
The attacker atoned for his poor miss two minutes later, heading home from a drilled cross into the area, which Grobler flicked on past Kassally for a neat finish and a valuable lead with less than 15 minutes to the final whistle.
The victory bumps the Pretoria outfit up to fourth in the Premiership standings, a point ahead of Wits on 34, while Chippa - who suffered their sixth successive defeat - remain rooted to the bottom of the table, four points adrift of Black Leopards in
15th.
Chippa's William Twala netted a first half penalty, before Bevan Fransman equalised and Bradley Grobler added the second to secure the vital win for SuperSport, who extend their unbeaten league run to eight matches.
The match served as a catch-up game for Matsatsantsa, who progressed to the next round of the CAF Confederation Cup at the weekend with a 2-0 win over Angolan side Petro Atletico.
After a quiet opening 15 minutes, Chippa were the first with a real opportunity, when William Twala outmuscled a SuperSport defender deep in the hosts' half, before Twala got a shot away, but missed the mark.
Chippa kept up the pressure and were soon rewarded with another chance when Benjani Mwaruwari picked up a loose ball inside SuperSport's area, danced around his marker, before getting a shot away from in front of goal, but instead skied his effort high and wide of Ronwen Williams's goal.
SuperSport had no answer for Chippa's attack and had their problems compounded on the half-hour mark when Grant Kekana brought down Mbekile Asavela inside the area, leaving referee Daniel Bennett with no choice but to award the penalty and a subsequent booking for Kekana.
Twala stepped up and sent Williams the wrong way, slotting home into the bottom right of goal to hand the visitors the advantage.
With chances a rarity for SuperSport in the first half, they came out firing after the interval and had Maluleka go close inside 90 seconds, before he forced a nervy stop from Kassally in the 54th to deny the hosts the equaliser.
A minute later however, Fransman headed home from a Sameegh Doutie corner to cancel Chippa's first half strike.
The Cape side replied with a chance of their own, but Asavela failed to trouble Williams, blasting wide from close-range after some good work to break free of his marker in the area.
With 19 minutes left on the clock, Doutie missed a golden opportunity to take the lead for SuperSport when Innocent Mdledle delivered an accurate ball toward the back post, only for Doutie to miscue his volley straight at Kassally, who made a
comfortable stop.
The attacker atoned for his poor miss two minutes later, heading home from a drilled cross into the area, which Grobler flicked on past Kassally for a neat finish and a valuable lead with less than 15 minutes to the final whistle.
The victory bumps the Pretoria outfit up to fourth in the Premiership standings, a point ahead of Wits on 34, while Chippa - who suffered their sixth successive defeat - remain rooted to the bottom of the table, four points adrift of Black Leopards in
15th.