For the home team, it was a third victory in four matches and takes them to just outside the top eight bracket, while Ernst Middendorp’s side are winless in their last six outings, and rooted to the foot of the table.
Polokwane dominated the early proceedings with Nazier Jacobs testing Glenn Verbauwhede with a third-minute effort, Essau Kanyenda also getting a shot in following a series of corner kicks within the opening 10 minutes.
It was proving to be an open and end-to-end encounter, as Deolin Mekoa and then Kurt Lentjies had shots at goal for the KZN outfit, Jabu Maluleke and Lebohang Motumi doing likewise for the Limpopo team, but neither goalkeeper was called into serious action.
The deadlock was to be broken in the 37th minute, the lively Mekoa slotting home after beating a couple of defenders, following a nice bit of interplay with the Team of Choice’s talisman, Lentjies.
Rise and Shine came out after the break with purpose and Thobani Mncwango tested Verbauwhede immediately after the restart.
The home crowd were off their feet when Muzikayifani Ngidi’s stunning left-footed effort on 57 minutes beat Verbauwhede and leveled the game at 1-1.
Polokwane City were now smelling blood and Mncwango put his name on the score-sheet on 62 minutes, doing the business after being played in by Ngidi. It was now 2-1 to Julio Leal’s men.
It went from bad to worse for Maritzburg when central defender Brian Onyango was red-carded for a hand-ball in the box with 25 minutes to go. But fortunately for the visiting team, Maluleke fired his penalty kick into the crossbar.
But there was indeed to be a third goal for Rise and Shine, substitute Sipho Jembula getting on the end of Jacob’s 87th-minute delivery to make quite sure of the three points
Source: African News Agency (ANA).
