Bloemfontein Celtic were held to a 1-1 draw by Thanda Royal Zulu in an exciting Premier Soccer League clash at the Seisa Ramabodu Stadium on Sunday.
Celtic netted in the seventh minute through Lebohang Kukane, and three minutes later Bernard Parker equalised for the struggling Royals team and earned them a valuable point.
Celtic started off swiftly, with their lightning-quick left-winger Moses Spandeel exposing the Royals’ lack of pace in defence and winning a free kick in the first minute. He drove the resulting set-piece across the face of the goal and all it needed was a boot to tap it in, but no one in the penalty area reacted in time.
Celtic captain Gary Goldstone and Timothy Batabaire were solid in defence as Royals struggled to move forward in the early minutes. Celtic striker Lebohang Kukane benefited from the resolute defence as they were supplied with quality passes. Kukane led the Celtic forward on a quick break in the third minute but failed to test goalkeeper Aime Kitenge.
Four minutes later, though, Kukane tapped in from a Tumelo Nhlapo cross. The right-back surged forward as Celtic knocked the ball around and while Royals watched the action, Nhlapo sped down the right flank and played in an inch-perfect cross to the far post that Kukane slotted home.
The fervent Celtic supporters were ecstatic but their joy was short-lived as Parker equalised three minutes later.
Katlego Loke waltzed past two Celtic defenders, played a quick one-two with Brian Kgafane and, while Goldstone and company appealed for offside, played the ball to Parker who tapped home.
With Spandeel on the right and Loke on the left for their respective teams, the action went back and forth as the teams searched for a goal. Goldstone went up for a header from a corner kick but Kitenge caught it easily. The Royals keeper committed to a tackle after his defence was caught flat-footed and had to be replaced on the half-hour mark as he picked up a knock.
Nimrod Tsengwa came on for the veteran keeper and Celtic tried to take advantage of this by surging forward relentlessly. However, their finishing was off as Johannes Motlhaping failed to connect with his teammates and the Phunya Sele Sele fans called for his replacement.
Coach Khabo Zondo responded to their call and replaced the gangling striker with Mark Amofah.
With five minutes added on to the first stanza, neither side looked like scoring, although Celtic number one Shuaib Walters gave the hosts a scoring chance. His quick pass to Batabaire was intercepted by Dingaan Metsi and, fortunately for Walters, the Royals striker was off and shot wide.
The back-and-forth attacking play from both sides continued, but both defences stood strong, Goldstone was calm under pressure while his counterpart, Patrick Mayo, marshalled his back line with aplomb.
Spandeel constantly had them back-peddling but took one too many touches to have a shot at goal. His corner kick was met by Kukane at the near-post with a glancing header, but even then Tsegwa denied them.
Celtic supporters urged their team on and they responded, but their touches were off when they got closer to the 18-area and their passes just too strong to finish. On the other end Parker missed a glorious opportunity to score when Clement Mazibuko found him unmarked on the edge of the box.
The productive Royals number 17 pulled his shot wide when he had ample time to pick a spot. Tsegwa then pulled off a double save as Celtic surged forward in the dying minutes.
First a long-range shot by Kamohelo Mabuya was parried in to the path of Patrick Malokase, whose close-range effort was smothered by the substitute keeper. Then Nhlapo had the last chance to win it for Celtic. A neat pass from the left found the defender unmarked at the far-post, but the right-back casually stroked the ball way over the goal posts. — Sapa