Mohau Mokate in action for Maritzburg United against Bloemfontein Celtic at Harry Gwala stadium.
PSL results and latest PSL log: Maritzburg thump Celtic while Stars go down to Ajax
Ajax escapes the relegation zone while Maritzburg shoot up the log.
Mohau Mokate in action for Maritzburg United against Bloemfontein Celtic at Harry Gwala stadium.
Maritzburg United jumped five places from ninth to fifth on the PSL log as they put a hapless Bloemfontein Celtic side to the sword at Harry Gwala stadium on Friday night.
This saw them leapfrog both Soweto giants as well as their opponents who drop from one place down to seventh place following a humiliating defeat.
Maritzburg were the more enterprising of the two sides and wowed the home crowd with some slick touches as they went forward regularly, only to disappoint with the finishing touch as they failed to trouble Celtic keeper Patrick Tignyemb early on.
Their forwards toiled hard with no reward for much of the opening half hour but it would be two defenders who would combine well to find the breakthrough as former Bafana man Bevan Fransman’s headed pass landed in the path of Pogiso Sanoka who nodded through for the opener in the 36th minute.
The “Team of Choice” continued their dominance and could have made it 2-0 one minute from halftime but Tignyemb was alert pulling off a brilliant save to keep his side in the game.
The hosts started the second half in the same vein and this time around they were easily rewarded, albeit through some questionable Celtic defence as a seemingly tame cross was allowed to make its way to Mohau Mokate who poked a foot out to put his side 2-0 up.
Mokate was replaced by Belgian forward Andrea Fileccia in the 75th minute who made an immediate impact when he scored with his very first touch just mere seconds after taking the field, taking the score to 3-0.
Also read: Mamelodi Sundowns v Orlando Pirates: Preview, head to head, teams, kick off and live stream
After missing a sitter, Evans Rusike got in on the action as he provided the fourth goal on the 89th minute hand his team a convincing victory.
In the night’s other fixture, Ajax Cape Town escaped the base of the league table as they defeated fellow relegation candidates 3-1 at Cape Town Stadium.
Neither side looked like giving an inch early on until three minutes from the break when Zama Rabuwane found the net to put his side 1-0 up as the teams went to halftime.
The Urban Warriors threatened the visitors goal in the second stanza and eventually something had to give as Tercious Malepe found the equaliser in the 73rd minute.
Tashreeq Morris put the home side ahead seven minutes later before former Orlando Pirates marksman Tendai Ndoro announced his return to South African football with a strike at the stroke of full time.
The win propels Ajax to the dizzying heights of 13th on the log, just two points away from Bidvest Wits who are restored to a spot they have occupied for most of the season.
Latest PSL log
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Mamelodi Sundowns | 16 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 27 | 14 | 13 | 31 |
| 2 | Cape Town City FC | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 27 |
| 3 | Free State Stars | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 17 | 1 | 25 |
| 4 | Maritzburg United | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 24 |
| 5 | Kaizer Chiefs | 16 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 23 |
| 6 | Orlando Pirates | 16 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 23 |
| 7 | Bloemfontein Celtic | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 18 | -3 | 23 |
| 8 | Chippa United | 16 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 22 |
| 9 | Baroka FC | 16 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 20 | 22 | -2 | 22 |
| 10 | Golden Arrows | 16 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| 11 | Polokwane City | 15 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 17 | 19 | -2 | 18 |
| 12 | SuperSport United | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 17 |
| 13 | Ajax Cape Town | 17 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 21 | -6 | 16 |
| 14 | AmaZulu FC | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 19 | -4 | 15 |
| 15 | Platinum Stars | 17 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 19 | -9 | 15 |
| 16 | Bidvest Wits | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 18 | -9 | 14 |
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