AmaZulu pick up much-needed win at home over Polokwane

Cape Town - AmaZulu picked up a valuable 1-0 victory over fellow strugglers Polokwane City at Kings Park Stadium on Sunday.

It was a battle between the bottom two teams in the Absa Premiership, and it was Usuthu who made the most of the opportunity thanks to Bongi Ntuli's second-half strike.

While the three points they earned did not move them out of the danger zone, it did give them a much-needed boost in their battle for survival while placing further pressure on struggling Polokwane coach Clinton Larsen, whose team remain rock-bottom.

The match had started much more promisingly for the visitors when they nearly took the lead in the 10th minute following a counter-attacking move from an AmaZulu short corner.

Moments later, Usuthu had a free-kick at the other end, and though they managed to pick out Mario Booysen in the Polokwane area with the delivery, the defender's header couldn't find the target.

Polokwane keeper George Chigova was forced into a crucial save shortly before the half-hour mark to deny Siphelele Magubane from point-blank range, as it finished goalless at the break.

Slovakian forward Milos Lacny came close to handing AmaZulu the lead four minutes into the second half but flashed his effort over the bar after latching on to a cross from Siyethemba Sithebe.

After threatening for much of the opening hour, AmaZulu finally found the goal they were looking for in the 62nd minute when Samuel Darpoh picked out Bongi Ntuli, who fired in his 11th goal of the season to give his side a valuable 1-0 lead.

AmaZulu had a golden opportunity to kill off the match in the final 15 minutes when Ntuli failed to hit the target in a one-on-one situation with Chigova, but luckily the miss did not cost his team as Usuthu held on to collect all three points and ease the pressure on their coach Jozef Vukusic.

- TEAMTalk