Wits dominate, but SuperSport smash and grab three points in PSL clash

Sipho Mbule's headed winner in the 92nd minute earned SuperSport United a smash-and-grab 1-0 Absa Premiership win after Bidvest Wits had controlled most of the game at Bidvest Stadium on Friday night.

If there were such an event as a "hackathon", the Absa Premiership match-up between Wits and SuperSport could be called such a thing.

On Bidvest Stadium's billiard table surface, players hacked at each other, the ball was hacked across field at a bewildering pace, and some powerful shots were hacked in the direction of goal. In injury time, Mbule was left free to hack home a header.

When these two teams meet it's all frenetic pace, structure and power; a lot less style, and not much in the way of patient build-ups.

On Friday night again the ball was worked at 100km/h through the passes and flew across goalmouths, skinning heads and shins and feet in half-chances.

In such determined, breath-stealing fray, Wits edged both halves fairly convincingly against opponents of such class.

Gavin Hunt's Wits' speed of play edged out even the United of Kaitano Tembo, who also pack plenty of tempo. But Wits could not profit from the few clear chances that they produced.

Wits (15 points from seven games), who dropped to fourth, remain every bit a factor early in the title race, despite SuperSport (17 points from 11 games) skipping over them into third.

Cole Alexander and Thabang Monare's work rate in the first half to edge the classy SuperSport midfield trio of Dean Furman, Teboho Mokoena and Mbule was considerable.

Sameehg Doutie was lively on the wing early on for Wits. He struck a shot low and with sting from the edge of the area to which Ronwen Williams fell to a sharp save.

Doutie was replaced injured in the 20th minute by Elias Pelembe.

Mxolisi Macuphu fashioned space and drove a low strike just wide early in the second half. Wits' centre-forward had a line on goal soon after but did not get power on his shot to beat Williams.

Pelembe's drive over from inside the area in the 61st, in a good position, was the best chance of the game for the Clever Boys.

On balance of play Wits would have counted themselves unfortunate to have earned just a draw.

In the final seconds, from Maphosa Modiba's cross, the talented youngster Mbule was left alone to scramble in a header.