Johannesburg — SuperSport United's unbeaten start under Andre Arendse continued after they shared the spoils in a goalless draw with Stellenbosch at Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Matsatsantsa were indebted to Boalefa Pule for coming away with a point after he kept out Ashley Du Preez and Judas Mosemaedi, while Zitha Kwinika was unfortunate to see his header strike the frame of the goal for the hosts.
Arendse's side remains in eighth place after going four games undefeated, with Stellies (40) moving up to fifth in the DStv Premiership standings, four points adrift of the top three.
The game got off to a scrappy start as both teams were guilty of giving away possession in the opening stages and the crowd had to wait until just before the quarter-hour mark for the first attempt at goal.
The visitors would create the first chance on 13 minutes when Jesse Donn's clearance only made it as far as Du Preez, who delivered the ball back into the box for Juan Ortiz to blaze over the crossbar.
Steve Barker's troops came even closer midway through the first half as Junior Mendieta picked out Du Preez with a free-kick, but the striker's diving header went across the face of the goals.
The Pretoria outfit almost took the lead against the run of play on 25 minutes, but Deano van Rooyen was well placed to clear the ball off the line.
Thapelo Maseko should have done better when Jamie Webber's free-kick found him inside the box on 33 minutes, but the midfielder steered his header wide of the mark.
The best opportunity came the way of the Maroons in the final minute of the first half as Du Preez found himself clean through on goal, although he couldn’t beat Pule in a one-on-one situation.
Lee Langeveldt was alert to the danger in the 57th minute when he saved at the feet of Webber, while Du Preez forced Pule into another save at the other end on the hour mark after Van Rooyen found him on the cutback.
The woodwork came to Stellenbosch's rescue seven minutes later as Kwinika hit the crossbar with his header from an acute angle and Langeveldt kept his team in the contest with a superb save to tip Sibusiso Maziko's shot behind in the 71st minute.
Maseko again proved wasteful after he got on the end of a cross in the 77th minute, only to flick his header over the bar and SuperSport were almost made to pay in stoppage time when Mosemaedi drew a fine save out of Pule to be denied a last-gasp winner.
IOL Sport