Mokoro and Tsutsulupa © Backpagepix

Moroka Swallows were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw in their match with AmaZulu at the Dobsonville Stadium on Saturday night.

For Swallows, the result saw them denied the chance to go up to third on the Absa Premiership table.

Goals came from Siyabonga Nomvethe in the first half and Goodman Dlamini in the second half.

In terms of ball possession and shots-on-goal, it was Moroka Swallows who were the dominant first half side, and they deservedly took a 1-0 lead into the break.

The goal came after 19 minutes as Nomvethe slammed the ball across the body of Usuthu keeper Tapuwa Kapini and into the top corner, following some good work by David Mathebula.

Moroka Swallows were the side doing the attacking, with Sibusiso Khumalo a constant threat down the right, as was Bennett Chenene down the left.

Chances, however, were not forthcoming and the only other time the Usuthu goal was threatened was six minutes before the break when Kapini did well to dive across and palm Mathebula’s shot to safety.

At the other end of the park Greg Etafia was for all intents and purposes a spectator as the KZN side failed to mount any meaningful attacks.

The advent of the second half did little to change the complexion of the game as the respective strike forces failed to threaten each other’s goals.

AmaZulu to their credit kept on stroking the ball around, and several times created problems in the Swallows box, but on each occasion the final touch or pass was missing.

But the persistence finally did pay off, when in the 76th minute Ayanda Dlamini got to the byline and squared for Goodman Dlamini, who netted with a simple tap in.

Five minutes later and it almost got worse for Gordon Igesund’s charges, but fortunately for the hosts, Etafia got enough on Tangeni Shipahu’s shot to deflect it onto the post.

There were anxious moments in both boxes late on as both teams pushed for a winner, but the score-line remained unchanged in what was probably a fair result.

Moroka Swallows (1) 1 (Nomvethe 20’)

TEAMS

Swallows (4-4-2): Etafia, Isaacs, Hendricks (da Costa 70’), Mungomeni, Lekgothoane; Khumalo (Makhanya 53’), Sibaya, Tsutsulupa (Twala 76’), Mathebula; Chenene, Nomvethe

Amazulu (4-4-2): Kapini, Teyise, Nyadombo, Kasonga, Mokoro, Kgatla, Sangweni, Zhuwawo (Shipahu 60’), Senamela (Khumalo 92’); A.Dlamini Lewis (G Dlamini 54’)