In-form Stellenbosch FC recorded their fifth victory in six DStv Premiership matches after defeating neighbours Cape Town Spurs in Mother City Derby at the Cape Town Stadium on Tuesday evening, after leading 1-0 at halftime.

With this outcome, the visiting Stellenbosch move into fourth place on the Premiership standings. Spurs remain rock bottom with three points after 13 matches.

Both sides showed attacking intent from the opening whistle, and that made for fast-paced fare in the opening minutes, but then play was held up for injuries to Rushwin Dortley (Spurs) and Darrel Matsheke (Stellenbosch).

Soon after the restart, Spurs lost possession midway in their half, and Stellenbosch goal poacher Iqraam Rayners was sent away goalwards. Given his raw pace, he raced from the Spurs' defence and slipped the ball deftly past goalkeeper Sam Ramsbottom.

It was Rayners' fourth goal of the season.

Spurs needed some time to recover from this setback, and when they regained their mojo, they staged a concerted fightback. The Stellenbosch defence survived some close shaves as the first half wound to its close, but goalkeeper Oscarine Masuluke did well to avert danger.

By the time the teams changed ends for the halftime break, Spurs enjoyed a possession advantage, and that was a rare statistic for the Premiership's bottom-placed team.

When second-half play resumed, Spurs continued to hold the upper hand, and they looked the likelier to score as the match moved towards the hour mark. Ashley Cupido, who was joined by teenager Luke Baartman in Spurs' two-man attack, was well-placed to score on two occasions. However, his ball control let him down, and he was unable to unleash parting shots after final third entries.

Spurs' fightback fizzled out when Stellenbosch snatched a second goal just past the hour mark after a goalmouth cross from Stellenbosch midfielder Devin Titus. Spurs failed to deal with the threat, and Jayden Adams (Stellenbosch) darted in with a glancing header for his side's second goal.

A few minutes later, Matsheke added to Spurs' woes with his side's third goal as Stellenbosch signed off with an emphatic 3-0 win.

IOL Sport