Pirates, Sundowns still neck and neck at the top

Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns remained neck and neck at the top of the Betway Premiership after a full set of midweek fixtures across South Africa on Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 March.

Pirates and Sundowns both claimed hard-earned 2-1 wins on Wednesday.

The Buccaneers defeated Polokwane City at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium thanks to a last-minute winner from Patrick Maswanganyi, after earlier goals from Relebohile Mofokeng and Bongi Dlamini had left the game locked at 1-1.

Sundowns, meanwhile, shrugged off a dismissal for Jayden Adams early in the second half to overcome Golden Arrows at Loftus Versfeld.

Teboho Mokoena and Iqraam Rayners put the Brazilians 2-0 up before Adams saw red, and Arrows set up a tense finale thanks to Sede Junior Dion’s penalty, but ultimately the reigning champions held out for the three points.

Pirates and Sundowns have the same number of points (44) from the same number of matches played (19), but the Soweto side have a nose ahead on goal difference (+23 to +22).

The #BetwayPrem title race is going down to the wire 😲🍿#SSDiski pic.twitter.com/MsyzfVSj3V — SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 4, 2026

The battle for bronze behind them saw third-placed Sekhukhune United remain one point ahead of fourth-placed Durban City after the teams drew 1-1 at the Chatsworth Stadium.

Saziso Magawana put the Citizens ahead before a late equaliser for Babina Noko from Tshepo Mashiloane.

AmaZulu FC moved up to fifth place despite a 0-0 draw at home to bottom-of-the-log Magesi FC at the Princess Magogo Stadium, while Marumo Gallants secured the most surprising result of the night, defeating Chippa United 3-1 at the Buffalo City Stadium.

Bahlabane ba Ntwa had gone 12 matches without an outright win across all competitions, but claimed their first victory in the league since October (and ended a six-game unbeaten run in the league for the Chilli Boys) thanks to second-half goals from Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo, Msindisi Kunene and Mohamed Doumbia.

Tuesday’s results saw Kaizer Chiefs suffer a fourth successive defeat across all competitions as they slumped to a 1-0 reverse away to Richards Bay (with Thulani Gumede scoring for the Natal Rich Boyz); Siwelele FC and Stellenbosch FC played out a goalless stalemate in Bloemfontein while TS Galaxy were hit with a fifth straight league loss, going down 2-1 at home to Orbit College.

The Mswenko Boys temporarily rose out of the relegation playoff zone and broke a nine-game winless run across all competitions thanks to goals from Gomolemo Khoto and Lesedi Kapinga. However, they dropped back into 15th place on Wednesday after Gallants’ victory.

The Nedbank Cup quarterfinals take centre stage this coming weekend, before the Betway Premiership resumes next Wednesday with Orlando Pirates hosting Richards Bay.

MIDWEEK RESULTS

Tuesday 3 March

Richards Bay 1-0 Kaizer Chiefs

Siwelele FC 0-0 Stellenbosch FC

TS Galaxy 1-2 Orbit College

Wednesday 4 March

AmaZulu FC 0-0 Magesi FC

Chippa United 1-3 Marumo Gallants

Durban City 1-1 Sekhukhune United

Mamelodi Sundowns 2-1 Golden Arrows

Polokwane City 1-2 Orlando Pirates