Polokwane City reclaimed third place in the Betway Premiership after they beat SuperSport United 1-0 at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium on Friday night.
A moment of magic from Oswin Appollis in the 42nd minute decided the contest in Pretoria as Rise And Shine claimed their third win in five games to go two points clear of Sekhukhune United.
Gavin Hunt's side have now lost back-to-back encounters in the league since the turn of the year and they remain in 10th position, level with AmaZulu (9th) and Stellenbosch (8th) on 16 points.
SuperSport were looking to get their new year up and running after suffering a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Babina Noko last weekend, while Polokwane hoped to make it six matches unbeaten in the league, having played out to a 1-1 draw with their Limpopo rivals most recently.
The visitors created the majority of the chances in the first half and Matsatsantsa had to do a lot of defending, with Aphiwe Baliti and Bilal Baloyi both making important blocks in the early stages of the game.
Rise And Shine almost opened the scoring from a counter on 36 minutes when Raymond Daniels was released down the right channel and he cut the ball back for Appollis to get a firm shot on target, although Thakasani Mbanjwa pulled off a smart save.
It took route-one football from Phuti Mohafe's side to break the deadlock just before halftime as Brian Bwire's goal-kick found Thato Letshedi on the right wing and he hooked the ball towards the box.
Appollis still had plenty to do with two defenders in front of him, but he took a fine first touch to get away from Pogiso Sanoka and lashed his shot into the bottom left corner of the net.
Of course Oswin Appollis opens the scoring against his former employers 😏⚽
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) January 17, 2025
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The hosts nearly found a swift reply after Hunt had made three changes at the break as substitute Eric Mbangossoum saw his header smack against the crossbar on 50 minutes.
Matsatsantsa ramped up the pressure in an attempt to get an equaliser and Bwire was required to keep out Vincent Pule's free-kick in the 70th minute.
However, the Limpopo outfit were presented with a glorious opportunity to seal the win six minutes from time when they were awarded a penalty, only for Puleng Marema to see his spot-kick brilliantly saved by Mbanjwa.
SuperSport United (0) 0
Polokwane City (1) 1 (Appollis 42')
SUPERSPORT UNITED: T. Mbanjwa, N. Mobbie, P. Sanoka, B. Baloyi (E. Mbangossoum 46'), A. Baliti, G. Lungu (S. Magidigidi 46'), B. Poggenpoel, S. Nurkovic, V. Pule (D. Jansen 90+2'), K. Ayer, T. Dzvukamanja (S. Ndlovu 46').
POLOKWANE CITY: B. Bwire, T. Matuludi (S. Makhubela 57'), B. Nikani, L. Nkaki, L. Ndlovu, M. Kambala, N. Maphangule, M. Ramabu, T. Letshedi (P. Marema 46'), O. Appollis (F. Baloyi 83'), R. Daniels.