Black Leopards boosted their hopes of Absa Premiership survival with a 1-0 win over Bidvest Wits at FNB Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Mwape Musonda scored the only goal of the game as Lidoda Duvha jumped up to 14th place on the log standings, a point above danger and safe of automatic relegation to the GladAfrica Championship. The Clever Boys drop down to fifth place after falling to their first league loss in the bubble.
Leopards controlled the early exchanges and conjured the first chance through Thabo Matlaba in the 17th minute. Ricardo Goss, who donned the captain’s armband in place of the suspended Thulani Hlatshwayo, pulled off a good save to deny Matlaba’s cross from finding an unmarked Musonda.
Bidvest Wits best chance in the first half came from a set-piece in the 32nd minute. Keegan Ritchie’s free-kick picked out Terrence Dzvukamanja but the forward failed to hit the mark with his header attempt.
Musonda fired Leopards in front on the hour mark. Khuliso Mudau’s precise cross pierced the heart of the Clever Boys defence before bouncing favourably into the path of the Leopards skipper who powered a diving header past Goss.
The Clever Boys pushed forward for the equaliser and dominated most of the play in the final half hour. Dzvukamanja had a great chance to earn Wits a share of the spoils in the 88th minute but Isaac Masia pulled off a superb last ditch block to win Leopards all three points.
Black Leopards (0) 1 (Musonda 60′)
Bidvest Wits (0) 0
STARTING XI:
Black Leopards: Ndlovu; Zulu, Masia, Gyimah, Mudau, Abubakar, Makgetlwa, Matlaba, Mokoena, Hlongwane, Musonda.
Bidvest Wits: Goss, Ritchie, Gordinho, Mlonyeni, Macheke, Alexander, Nange, Domingo, Dzvukamanja, Human, Macuphu.©
SOURCED FROM THE PSL WEBSITE.
