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Wits brush Celtic aside

Johannesburg - Second half goals from Ryan Chapman and Calvin Kadi handed Wits a 3-1 victory over Bloemfontein Celtic in a Premiership clash at Bidvest Stadium on Saturday night.

Matthew Pattison broke the deadlock before half-time, while Chapman regained the lead for the Clever Boys after Joel Mogorosi equalised shortly following the half-time interval.

Then, deep into stoppage time, Kadi added the finishing touches as Wits sealed three points in emphatic style.

The win extended Wits unbeaten run to four consecutive games and consolidated third place in the league standings by drawing level on 25 points with Mamelodi Sundowns, who lead thanks to a superior goal difference.

Wits wasted little time in getting their first shot on target and defender Dankwae Kofi came close to opening the scoring in the fourth minute when his headed effort struck the crossbar and bounced away to the relief of Celtic goalkeeper Patrick Tignyemb.

Chapman was next to test the Celtic shot-stopper, but the Wits playmaker drove his effort straight at Tignyemb, who had no difficulty in smothering the powerful effort.

There was no let up for Celtic and in the 17th minute Wits eventually went ahead through Pattison, who picked up a loose ball inside the area, danced past one defender and tucked away his shot at the far post.

Celtic hit back after the break through Mogorosi, who received a ball on the edge of the area, before getting his shot away at goal, which took a nasty touch on the way to beating goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs, who was wrong-footed in the process.

But Wits remained patient and soon went ahead once again in the 69th minute through Chapman, who received a pass on the right before unleashing a venomous effort, which made Tignyemb look distinctly average as he failed to clear what should have been a simple save.

Tignyemb was called into action once more nine minutes from time and made a superb stop to deny Sibusiso Vilakazi, who drilled a his shot straight at the Celtic keeper.

Josephs was the hero of the day as he made back-to-back saves to keep Wits' lead intact as time ran out and headed for four injury-time minutes.

Kadi put the result beyond doubt in the second of four additional minutes when he slotted home and confirmed Wits' seventh win of the season, while Celtic ended the year with a fourth defeat of the season.

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