A first half goal from Erick Mathoho was cancelled out by a second half penalty from Atusaye Nyondo as Bloemfontein Celtic and Kaizer Chiefs played to a 1-1 draw in an Absa Premiership match at the Free State Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Celtic dominated the possession stakes and controlled the flow of the game from the first whistle, but struggled to break down the Chiefs defence.

Instead, the home team opted to shoot from long range with their best effort on goal coming in the 18th minute when Lucky Baloyi fired inches over the target.

The game’s opening goal came very much against the run of play in the 37th minute when Erick Mathoho headed home a corner-kick from Keagan Buchanan to give Chiefs a 1-0 lead going into the break.

The second half continued in the same vein as the first with Celtic dictating the pace of the match.

The Phunya Sele Sele came close to levelling matters three minutes into the stanza, but a long range shot from Roggert Nyundu was brilliantly saved by a diving Brilliant Khuzwayo.

Celtic continued to push numbers forward and were rewarded for their efforts when they won a penalty in the 74th minute after a handball inside the box by Lorenzo Gordinho.

Substitute Atusaye Nyondo stepped-up and scored from the spot to make it 1-1.

Chiefs nearly re-took the lead in the 82nd minute, but Siphiwe Tshabalala curled his 22-yard free-kick narrowly over the crossbar.

Neither side could find a winner in the final ten minutes as they shared the spoils in their opening Absa Premiership match of the season.

Bloemfontein Celtic (0) 1 (Nyondo 75’ pen)

Kaizer Chiefs (1) 1 (Mathoho 37’)

Teams

Celtic: Tignyemb, Rikhotso, Ndengane, Letlabika, Hotto, Mahlasela (Masuku 83’), Baloyi (Mashinkinya 73’), Phalane, Motshegwa, Mabena, Nyundu (Nyondo 67’).

Chiefs: Khuzwayo, Masilela, Gordinho, Mathoho (Cardoso 69’), Mphahlele, Tshabalala (Chirambadare 83’), Katsande, Ekstein (Twala 77’), Buchanan, Parker, Paez.