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Durban - Wits coach Clive Barker was delighted to have walked away with all three points after it appeared as though they would only get one from their commanding win over Golden Arrows in Umlazi on Saturday.
"When it was 1-1 I was telling my players, maybe run the clock down just so that we can get a point out of the game," Barker said afterwards.
"But then we went on and got the second goal.
"It was a game against a really tricky opponent. So it was a really wonderful effort at the end there. It was an excellent football match."
Papy Faty’s goal three minutes before the end of normal time helped secure a 2-1 Premiership victory.
The victory lifted the Students up to fifth on the log, albeit for possibly just 24 hours with Maritzburg United and Bloemfontein Celtic due to play their games in hand later on Sunday.
Sibusiso Vilakazi had fired the visitors ahead less than 60 seconds after the interval, before an 83rd minute equaliser by Lucky Nguzana appeared to have earned Abafana Bes’thende a share of the spoils.
The Johannesburg outfit had dominated the game for large passages and should have secured the result had Ryan Chapman not been so wasteful in front of goal.
The nippy forward twice drew fine saves out of Arrows goalkeeper Nkosi Gumede, but also failed to hit the target with three other clear openings early in the second half.
"Arrows are a talented team, but that’s football in the country," Barker said.
"In good situations and bad situations, the game is all about entertaining people and we did that very well.
"The quality of goals we scored and the pressure we put on them, despite their quality and tactics, was just fantastic."
Arrows coach Manqoba Mngqithi was disappointed with the result and also lamented some of the marking by his defenders on the visiting forward line.
"I must say I saw this coming," Mngqithi said.
"Our centre backs were trying to push them all the way because you could see that whenever Chapman was making a run, they always wanted to see him in front of them.
"That created space for their midfielders and they made us pay."
The Durban club are now 13th on the log, just four points clear of the relegation zone.
Elsewhere on Saturday, second-placed Orlando Pirates lost some ground in the Premiership title race after they were held to a goalless draw by top-flight rookies University of Pretoria.
SuperSport United held off a late charge from strugglers Black Leopards to secure a 3-2 win in Atteridgeville, and Platinum Stars settled for a 1 -1 draw with Mamelodi Sundowns in Phokeng.
On Friday, Moroka Swallows edged Free State Stars with a 1-0 victory in Dobsonville, and Ajax Cape Town played to a goalless stalemate against AmaZulu at Cape Town Stadium.
