Polokwane City reclaimed third place from Sekhukhune United in this weekend's Betway Premiership action and Cape Town City continued their resurgence under Muhsin Ertugral.
Cape Town City battled back from an early goal down to triumph 2-1 over relegation-threatened Richards Bay at Athlone Stadium on Friday.
The Natal Rich Boyz got off to a flying start when Yamela Mbuthuma opened the scoring after just eight minutes, only for Amadou Soukouna (41', 59') to strike either side of halftime to hand Ertugral his third win in four matches.
City climbed up to sixth position, five points adrift of the top three, with the KZN outfit unmoved in 14th spot and still only one point clear of the bottom two.
TS Galaxy remain undefeated under Adnan Beganovic after they played out to a 1-1 draw with Golden Arrows at the Mpumalanga Stadium on Saturday.
Abafana Bes'thende hit the front through Velemseni Ndwandwe on 17 minutes, but Victor Letsoalo found a swift reply for Rockets just three minutes later as they made it seven games unbeaten since Beganovic took over the reins from Sead Ramovic in November.
Galaxy closed within a point of SuperSport United (10th), AmaZulu (9th) and Stellenbosch (8th) in 11th place, while Arrows are seventh.
SuperSport are still searching for their first points in 2025 after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Polokwane City at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium on Friday.
Oswin Appollis struck in the 42nd minute to clinch all three points for Rise And Shine, who extended their unbeaten run in the league to six matches and handed Matsatsantsa their second successive loss at the start of the new year.
Chippa United and Marumo Gallants edged slightly further away from the danger zone after they shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw at the Buffalo City Stadium on Saturday.
A penalty from Edgar Manaka (15') gave Bahlabane Ba Ntwa an early lead, but Bienvenu Eva Nga (22') quickly restored parity before Justice Chabalala put the Chilli Boys ahead on 42 minutes.
However, Gabadinho Mhango equalised in the 54th minute to ensure Gallants (13th) remain undefeated in 2025 and keep them level with Chippa (12th) on 15 points.
Elsewhere, Kaizer Chiefs returned to winning ways as they edged 10-man Sekhukhune United 1-0 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday.
Mfundo Vilakazi snatched all three points for the Glamour Boys in the 86th minute, just moments after Vuyo Letlapa had received a straight red card for Babina Noko, who suffered their first defeat in six outings.
Amakhosi closed within two points of them in fifth place with their third win in five games to boost their hopes of qualifying for CAF football.
WEEKEND RESULTS
Friday, January 17
SuperSport United 0-1 Polokwane City
Cape Town City 2-1 Richards Bay
Saturday, January 18
Golden Arrows 1-1 TS Galaxy
Chippa United 2-2 Marumo Gallants
Sunday, January 19
Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 Sekhukhune United