Sekhukhune United joined the winning column during the opening weekend of the 2026-27 Betway Premiership season, claiming a hard-fought 1-0 win over Durban City at the Seshego Stadium on Saturday.
In what was a closely fought battle across 90 minutes, Bright Ndlovu’s first-half strike separated the two sides in Limpopo province as the defender-cum-striker continued where he left off last season, when he provided seven goal contributions in nine league fixtures.
The match started at a timid pace at the Seshego Stadium, with neither side creating any notable scoring chances inside the first five minutes. However, Sekhukhune produced the first shot at goal in the sixth minute as Tshepo Mokoane failed to hit the target inside the box after advancing forward.
Durban City saw much of the ball during the first quarter of the match but did little to threaten the Sekhukhune backline.
Babina Noko managed to break the deadlock in the 27th minute following a quick passing move toward the Durban City goal. As the ball was sprayed across to the left flank, Lehlogonolo Mojela put Ndlovu through on goal before evading his marker with a well-taken left-footed shot across the goal.
Durban City remained proactive in their attempts to draw level for a large part of the first half but often fell short at the final hurdle, as seen with Jean Lwamba’s effort in the 29th minute that was saved by Melusi Buthelezi.
Sekhukhune were swift out of the blocks in the second half as Tshepho Mashiloane attempted a shot from range in the 46th minute, which was subsequently saved by Fredrick Asare in goal.
Gaston Sirino’s introduction at the restart injected vigour into Durban City’s attack as Samkelo Maseko and Luphumlo Sifumba missed attempts inside the area. Tylo Sanger came agonisingly close to scoring the equaliser moments before the hour mark as he watched Buthelezi save his header following a corner kick.
The pace of the game slowed down dramatically with 10-minutes left on the clock as neither side created any concrete goal-scoring chances; however, Durban City continued to see most of the ball possession count.
Durban City piled on the pressure during the closing stages of the match, as seen with Tashreeq Matthews' close-range header in the 86th minute, and Siphamandla Ncanana’s 35-yard strike that went wide of the mark.
After soaking up the pressure during the final minutes of the encounter, Sekhukhune warded off Durban City’s attacks to claim maximum points in their first league tie of the campaign.
Sekhukhune United: (1) 1 (Ndlovu 27’)
Durban City: (0) 0
Sekhukhune United: Buthelezi, Kazeem, Cardoso, Matsimbi, Mashiloane, Mojela (Mobbie 76’), Khupe, Mkhize, Mokoane, Rammala (Khiba 76’), Ndlovu
Durban City: Asare, Gcaba (Shandu 79’), Ncanana, Mkhize, Mokone (Mthembu 79’), Poggenpoel, Sanger, Maseko (Morris 68’), Nodada (Sirino 46’), Sifumba (Green 79’), Lwamba