Golden Arrows snapped a two-match losing streak in all competitions against Chippa United but failed to make up good ground in the top eight as they played out to a goalless draw in their Betway Premiership clash at the Mpumalanga Stadium in Hammarsdale on Saturday.
The result means that one point still separates the two sides, with Arrows still having one game in hand over the Eastern Cape-based side.
In a high-stakes encounter, Chippa came into the contest having had the better of the KwaZulu Natal outfit with a win in the Nedbank Cup round of 32 (2-1) and a 2-0 loss in the league earlier this season.
Abafana Bes’Thende have since done a masterstroke in bringing back the experienced Manqoba Mngqithi, who, together with assistants Kagisho Dikgacoi and Musa Bilankulu, has steadied the Arrows ship into strong contention for one of the top eight positions with seven points from their last four encounters.
Arrows have been dancing on the edge of triumph without ever arriving, as they have finished in ninth position for the past three consecutive seasons. Only one point separated the two sides prior to the match, and in what was going to be a clash with direct implications for the battle for a spot in the top eight, neither side wanted to blink first.
The tension was on a knife edge and could be seen in the large part of the first half, with neither side enjoying any clear-cut opportunities to take a giant leap into securing what would be a crucial victory in their season.
Both sides had enough of box entries but also lacked the desired quality in the third half to set up the game's opening goal.
The Chilli Boys had the best chance to go into the halftime break with a lead as Sirgio Kammies and Ayabulela Magqwaka’s combination play saw the latter freed up on the left-hand side of the box, but his teammates were not sharp enough to take the chance and did not make the run into the danger area to capitalize on his dangerous cross.
Mngqithi’s halftime talk looked to have sparked a response from his side as they returned like a storm that had been holding back, and they were unlucky not to find the back of the net with Knox Mutizwa finding the crossbar in the 48th minute with Chippa found napping from the halftime break.
Their momentum didn't last long though and they survived a scare in the 70th minute with the Chilli Boys having their best attack of the match as Malebogo Modise teed off Bienvenu Eva Nga but the Cameroonian was only successful in finding Edward Maova in goal, and both sides shared the spoils as they didn't make an impression on each other.