All square as Bloem Celtic, Chippa draw

Cape Town - It was honours even between Bloemfontein Celtic and Chippa United as Sunday's mid-table Absa Premiership clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium ended in a 1-1 draw.

Ndumiso Mabena's goal early in the second half was cancelled out by William Twala's penalty not long after as the two teams settled for a share of the spoils.

Both Celtic and Chippa were guilty of giving away possession too early in the opening stages, leading to a stop-start beginning to the game.

After a quiet opening 20 minutes, Chippa midfielder Silas Maziya nearly put his side in front with a powerful shot that drew a fantastic save from Celtic keeper Jackson Mabokgwane, who got his fingertips to the ball as it sailed over the bar.

Despite that chance for the Chilli Boys, Celtic probably shaded the opening 45 minutes, even if they weren't able to make their advantage count.

It took just three minutes of the second half for that to change as Celtic took the lead through Ndumiso Mabena, who picked up his fourth goal of the season with a classy finish to put Phunya Sele Sele in the lead.

Chippa needed to find a way back into the match and they found it just eight minutes later when the referee pointed to the spot for a penalty following a coming-together in the area.

Up stepped a grateful Twala who slotted the ball past Mabokgwane and into the back of the net to level the scores.

The remainder of the match was a more open affair, although neither side was able to break down the opposing defence again as it finished all square in Port Elizabeth.

- TEAMTalk