AmaZulu FC let a lead slip in their Betway Premiership match against Polokwane City, which ended in a 1-1 draw at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Friday night.
Therefore, Usuthu remained sixth in the league standings after registering their fourth draw of the season. Arthur Zwane's side will wrap up their season with a match against Orlando Pirates on May 24 in Durban.
Rise and Shine, on the other hand, also remained seventh in the standings after fighting back to deny Usuthu a win. Coach Phuti Mohafe will be determined to ensure that his side returns to winning ways against Cape Town City at home on 17 May.
It took just seven minutes for Usuthu to break the deadlock through Tebogo Mashigo, who cut inside and unleashed a thunderous shot which beat goalkeeper Brian Okoth to hand AmaZulu a 1-0 lead and it was the 22-year-old's first-ever goal as a professional footballer.
Rise and Shine launched several attacks, but they were restricted to long-range attempts. Keeper Richards Ofori pulled off saves to deny Thato Letshedi, Nyakala Raphadu, Bonginkosi Dlamini and Samuel Nana between the 18th and 33rd minutes. The score was 1-0 to AmaZulu at halftime.
Polokwane surged forward in numbers after the restart and they were awarded a penalty in the 53rd minute after Thembela Sikhakhane had committed a foul in the box. Lebohang Nkaki stepped up and converted the resultant penalty to make it 1-1, making it two goals in as many matches.
Both teams then pushed for a late winning goal in the latter stages of the match and Ramahlwe Mphahlele came close to scoring when his attempt hit the woodwork in stoppage time. Ultimately, the match ended in a 1-1 draw on the night.
AmaZulu (1) 1 (Mashigo 7')
Polokwane (0) 1 (Nkaki 56')
AmaZulu: Ofori, Sikhakhane, Hanamub, Mphahlele, Mthethwa, Motshwari, Zungu (Mbanjwa 71'), Thabede (Brooks 60'), Ighodaro, Mashigo (Ekstein 71'), Moremi.
Polokwane: Okoth, Manthosi, Ndlovu, Nikani, Nkaki, Kambala, Nana (Ramabu 46'), Maphangule, Dlamini, Raphadu, Letshedi