SuperSport United endured a nerve-wracking 45 minutes to secure their place in the top-flight next season, playing to a 1-1 draw in the resumption of their Premiership fixture against Golden Arrows at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
The draw came at a crucial time, allowing Matsatsantsa a Pitori on 27 points to leapfrog Cape Town City on the same amount of points into 14th position, pushing the Cape side down to 15th due to a better goal difference.
City will now wait to learn the outcome of an investigation in the NFD Motsepe Foundation Championship regarding Durban City’s alleged use of an ineligible player to determine who they will face in the promotion play-offs.
Abafana Bes’thende still had a mathematical chance of reaching the top eight, but it would have required scoring six goals in one half – a highly unlikely outcome, given their season average of less than a goal per game.
The responsibility to guide Matsatsantsa to safety fell to interim coach Andre Arendse, who took over to complete the job left unfinished by then-head coach Gavin Hunt.
FULL TIME
No goals scored in the second half and it ends up 1-all against SuperSport United. Points shared@supersportfc (Saile 4′) 1-1 (Ndwandwe 24′) Lamontville Golden Arrows#SthendeWay #10betGoldenArrows #BetwayPremiership pic.twitter.com/fdHqLctG45
— Lamontville Golden Arrows FC (@goldenarrowsfc1) May 29, 2025
Their previous meeting was halted due to a power outage that cut short Hunt’s milestone 1,000th professional game celebration, preventing the completion of the second half.
Much has changed since that abandoned match, including Hunt’s departure.
Despite a rough patch in form, Matsatsantsa still had control of their destiny.
With the second half resuming at 1-1, all they needed was to hold onto that score or secure a win to steer clear of the PSL promotion play-offs – making it arguably the most significant 45 minutes in the club’s history.
All eyes were on this encounter, especially from the Citizens, who occupied the final safe position in 14th ahead of this match.
Their late-season surge – featuring a crucial 2-0 win over Polokwane City and a goalless draw with neighbours Stellenbosch FC – had kept their hopes alive after appearing doomed just weeks prior.
SuperSport, typically a mainstay in the league’s top eight and unaccustomed to relegation battles, came into this match with a key advantage.
In the end, that edge proved vital, as they managed to weather the storm and secure their top-flight status, living to fight another season.
