Cape derby ends in a draw

The promotion-relegation match between Chippa United and Santos ended in a 0-0 draw during the cape derby at the Phillippi stadium on Wednesday night.
According to the PSL website, the first half was an evenly balanced affair, with the Chilli boys dominating the second half but failing to make use of several good chances.
The game got off to a very fast paced start, with tackles flying in on the wet turf.
Both sides battled for ascendancy, struggling to find teammates with a potential final pass.
The first chance of the match fell to Santos’ Vuyisile Wana, whose speculative fourth minute shot from 30-yards was not too far off.
A couple of minutes later and Chippa were almost on the score-sheet when Asavela Mbekile struck the bar with his cross from out on the right.
The game remained tight, with the Chilli Boys again close to scoring on 30 minutes when Ricardo Skippers’ attempted clearance nearly went into his own net.
The home side came out looking strong in the second half and were unlucky not to take the lead three minutes after the restart when Buyani Sali curled a 20-yard shot onto the bar.
Mkhanyiseli Siwahla then ensured Santos keeper Pa Demba Touray was on top of his game with a stinging drive at the near post as the Chilli Boys began to sniff a goal.
The pressure continued to come from the Philippi side and a goalmouth scramble on 62 minutes almost yielded a goal for first Sali and then Welcome Qalanto nearly got in on goal.
With 20 minutes to go Siwahla should have given the PSL side the lead, but after some great work by Mbekile, the former Ajax man side-footed wide of goal from just 12-yards out.
A minute later and the Peoples’ Team thought they had a penalty when Msekile Mvalo appeared to handle the ball in his box, but referee Victor Gomes chose not to award a spot kick.
The game then descended into controversy as the wet conditions and the pressurised environment took its toll, resulting in Sali receiving his marching orders, while Tyren Arendse and Tashrique Goldman were both booked.
Welcome Qalanto was then guilty of squandering a great chance when he headed wide from Twala’s cross.
The final minutes of the game saw the contest degenerating into a bit a farce as the challenges became more and more nasty, resulting in regular injury stoppages.
When the final whistle finally blew, it would have been Chippa who would be ruing a string of missed chances in the second half.