Cosmos, Celtic in stalemate

Cape Town - Jomo Cosmos’ hopes of moving clear of the relegation zone at the bottom of the Absa Premiership were thwarted on Wednesday when they were held to a goalless draw by Bloemfontein Celtic at Olen Park. 

Cosmos started the match aggressively, showing an urgency from the opening minutes which was reflected in Celtic goalkeeper Patrick Tignyemb being forced into saves from Mician Mhone and Pentjie Zulu inside the opening quarter hour. 

A few minutes later it was the visitors’ turn to threaten a goal, with Dumisani Zuma forcing Sherwyn Naicker into a good save, while Lyle Lakay directed a shot wide of the mark shortly thereafter to keep the home side’s defence on their toes. 

The teams continued to trade chances up to half time, but the break arrived with the score line still blank. Early in the second half both teams shuffled their pack in midfield, with Celtic throwing on Vuyani Ntanga, while Cosmos introduced Mxolisi Machupu. 

Scoring opportunities continued to flow at both ends, but a combination of poor finishing and some solid goalkeeping by Naicker and Tignyemb – with the latter producing an excellent save to deny Charlton Mashumba in the 76^th minute – kept the game locked at 0-0.

The match finished goalless, with the result keeping Ezenkosi in 15^th place – just one point ahead of bottom-of-the-log Maritzburg United – while Phunya Sele Sele stay in 12^th place.