Durban — Golden Arrows survived a Chippa United second half surge and claimed their first home victory of the season with 3-2 win at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban on Saturday afternoon.
Arrows blew Chippa away in the opening half with centre back Ntsikelelo Nxadi opening the floodgates through a set piece in the 18th minute.
The towering defender did well to evade his marker and get himself in perfect position to guide a Mduduzi Sibiya delivery past Sipho Chaine in the Chippa goal.
Five minutes later, it was Sibiya again in the spotlight as he stepped up to convert a penalty in the 23rd minute after Knox Mutizwa was adjudged to have been brought down by a soft touch by Justice Chabalala.
Pule Mmodi sealed what was a disastrous first half for Chippa when he scored the third goal for the home side three minutes before half-time.
The speedy winger capitalised off good work by Mutizwa who did well to shrug off a challenge from a defender before he laid it off for Pule to tap into an empty net.
Chippa showed an unfamiliar character and grit about them in the second stanza and were rewarded when they scored two goals in a space of four minutes.
Etiosa Ighodaro scored the first when he fired in from a tight angle following chaos in the Arrows box. The Nigerian international pounced after the keeper's attempted clearance landed at his feet.
Ronald Pfumbidzai made it a one goal game as he poked home a bouncing ball after Arrows goalkeeper, Nkosingiphile Gumede palmed the first effort into his line of fire.
The home side survived a surge of pressure from Chippa for the durarion of the second half as they sought to protect their lead and secure their first win of the season.
IOL Sport