Stellenbosch FC succumbed to a 1-0 defeat away to Maritzburg United in the club’s penultimate match of the season.

• Amadou Soukouna’s 40th-minute strike was enough to earn the hosts all three points

• Stellenbosch remain sixth in the DStv Premiership standings with one match remaining

• The team will be in action again next weekend when they play host to TS Galaxy at the Danie Craven Stadium

A stop-start affair at the Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg ended with bottom-of-the-log Maritzburg United emerging with a narrow 1-0 victory over Stellenbosch FC following a solitary goal from Amadou Soukouna in the 40th minute of the encounter.

Chances throughout the match with few and far between for both sides, with Stellies coming closest to finding the net on the half-hour mark. That chance came from Iqraam Rayners who burst beyond the opposition defence and weaved his way into the box, only for the ball to be snapped up by Maritzburg ‘keeper Renaldo Leaner as he was about to pull the trigger.

Soukouna made no mistake at the other end, however, as ten minutes later he latched on to a flick on from Rowan Human, kept his composure, and fired the hosts into the lead with five minutes remaining in the half, a lead which they held onto heading into the break.

Andre de Jong was then introduced by Stellies coach Steve Barker for the start of the second stanza and the New Zealand international came close to scoring the equalizer in the 71st minute when he headed narrowly wide from a dangerous free-kick.

The standard of the match descended soon after, as a succession of fouls and perceived delay tactics combined to contribute towards the guests’ frustrations in their pursuit of potentially scoring an equalizing goal.

Those frustrations boiled over towards the end of the encounter as Stellies’ Olwethu Makhanya and goalkeeper Sage Stephens – who will now miss the next game through suspension – were both booked in quick succession, the latter for attempting in vain to retrieve a ball from a fleeing ball retriever.

Ultimately though, the equalizing goal never materialized as the referee’s whistle sounded to signal a frustrating and disappointing 1-0 defeat for Barker’s side on the road.

Stellenbosch FC will be back in action on Saturday, 20 May 2023 at the Danie Craven Stadium, where the team will take on TS Galaxy in their final league fixture of the season. Further ticket information for the not-to-be-missed DStv Premiership encounter will be communicated in due course.