Gladwin Shitholo, Captain of Lamontville Golden Arrows challenges Rowan Human of AmaZulu FC during the Betway Premiership match at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday. BackpagePix
Amazulu and Lamontville Golden Arrows play out to a goalless draw in their Betway Premiership KwaZulu-Natal derby clash at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban yesterday.
The result means both sides miss out on making a huge amount of ground in the league, but they remain unbeaten in both their last two fixtures, with Usuthu picking up four points from a possible six and Arrows only two.
FULL-TIME ⏰ | Nothing to separate the two teams. The spoils are shared in the Durban Derby this afternoon.#AmaZuluFC 0⃣ ➖ 0⃣ Golden Arrows#BetwayPrem #HebeUsuthu #UsuthuTogether pic.twitter.com/R2u4NFY1Qy
— AmaZulu FC (@AmaZuluFootball) January 4, 2025
While the iconic World Cup venue had more open seats than those occupied for the renewal of the KZN derby rivalry, the action on the park made an immediate impression but left much to be desired with a few exchanges early on in the match not backed up by clinical finishing.
The home side found early rhythm; Hendrick Ekstein had all the momentum coming into the match following his winner in the 1-0 win against Cape Town City earlier this week.
79' ⏰ | Ighodaro strikes the crossbar!#AmaZuluFC 0⃣ ➖ 0⃣ Golden Arrows#BetwayPrem #HebeUsuthu #UsuthuTogether
— AmaZulu FC (@AmaZuluFootball) January 4, 2025
The 34-year-old had the crossbar and keeper Ismail Watenga standing between him and his fourth goal of the season as early as the 10th minute of the match.
Through the jeers and cheers from those in attendance, the technical areas were very much live and audible through the noise in the stadium, and both sets of coaches could be heard barking out instructions as the encounter began to take shape.
Amazulu were the more certain of the two teams under the guidance of Vusumuzi Vilakazi and Arthur Zwane, even though results haven’t gone their way for the large part of the season.
For Musa Bilankulu and Kagisho Dikgacoi, this was another stiff test in their new roles after the exit of regular coach Mabhuti Khenyeza to Chippa United.
Usuthu began the match the better of the two sides, and they would have gone into the break the more confident of the two sides.
Abafana Bes’thende, though, began to find some success and inroads within the home side’s territory through some persistent work on the right-hand side of the pitch, but the final pass lacked a few chances in between.
Minutes ticked by in the second half, with neither side looking likely to find the opener; tempers began to flare as the battlefield intensified. Arrows had the ball in the back of the net through Siyanda Mthanti in the 66th minute, but the goal was ruled offside.
AmaZulu came close to sealing it with 10 minutes left on the clock; a well-set-up move saw a string of clever passes finding left back Riaan Hanamub, who delivered a telling, pinpoint cross into the box to find target man Etioso Ighodaro.
The woodwork though, once again stood between AmaZulu and breaking the deadlock.
The stalemate sees both sides missing out on an opportunity to make giant inroads up the log and offers those around them a chance to get the advantage.