Citizens, Siwelele in dull stalemate on poor pitch

Lebogang Manyama missed a great chance near the end of this match last night to hand Cape Town City all the three points in their title chase.

The Citizens travel back home with a point following a difficult trip to relegation-threatened Bloemfontein Celtic in the Absa Premiership match.

City captain Manyama thundered a left-footed effort against the crossbar with seven minutes left after a largely lethargic opening 80 minutes.

It was a golden opportunity to take a three-point lead at the top of the standings and put Manyama top in the goalscorers' race.

The visitors remain top of the log table, a point above Bidvest Wits but having played two more matches.

Manyama and Aubrey Ngoma were the men who asked Celtic defence the difficult questions. But nothing came out of it as both sides battled with a poor surface at Molemela Stadium, which was subjected to a major renovation about 18 months ago.

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Manyama had another great chance 20 minutes earlier when City burst out on one of their lightening counterattacks, but a left-footed effort from the 26-year-old skipper went wide, to the frustration of his coach Eric Tinkler.

Celtic had been hoping to have new coach Luc Eymael on the bench but his registration with the new club is being disputed by his old team, Polokwane City.

The 57-year-old Belgian sat in the stands instead, at times furiously texting his bench with instructions. A dispute hearing at the end of this month will decide his future.

Phunya Sele Sele looked and played like a team in relegation danger with occasional opportunity and flashes of potential but poor decision-making and heavy touches rendered them largely ineffective.

Namibian international Deon Hotto threatened down the wing but striker Moeketsi Mvula, given a rare run in the starting line-up, got little service.

The half-time talks from both coaches did not seem to change much as the match continued to be characterised by schoolboy errors and the difficulty of dealing with a sub-standard surface.

An ineffective Mvula was later substituted, and in came Tshegofatso Mabaso, who almost grabbed the all-important goal 10 minutes from time in front of goal, but his snap effort went wide.

The 20-year-old Mabaso then had another opportunity with only three minutes to go when a long pass from the right saw him turn the City defence around, but goalkeeper Shu-Aib Walters managed his only serious save of the night to keep Siwelele's goal tally for the season on a paltry 12 from 21 matches - the poorest of the Premiership season.