AmaZulu picked up their first three-point haul of the new campaign as a late Luvuyo Memela brace secured a 2-0 victory over Black Leopards in Durban on Wednesday night.
The hosts started the match on the front foot and didn't take long to stamp their dominance on proceedings as they created several good chances in the opening 15-minute spell.
However, Xola Mlambo saw his fifth-minute effort blocked by the Leopards defence, while later efforts from Luvuyo Memela, Lehlohonolo Majoro and Augustine Mulenga failed to find the mark.
And there was no let-up for Leopards as AmaZulu continued to pour forward in search of the opening goal.
Mlambo again fired wide of goal in the 16th minute, while Mulenga saw his shot from outside the box drift narrowly wide of the right-hand upright.
After a lengthy lull in play, AmaZulu redoubled their efforts in the closing stages of the first half.
They were unable to find the all-important breakthrough, though, as Mario Booysen headed wide on 38 minutes before Butholezwe Ncube fired high and wide from outside the box.
While Celtic had struggled to make their chances count in the first stanza they did not experience the same problem after the half-time break.
However, they first had to survive an early onslaught from the visitors, who went close through efforts from Roderick Kabwe, Mumuni Abubakar and Pentjie Zulu.
The deadlock was eventually broken in the 77th minute as Memela fired an angled shot into the bottom-right corner from the left side of the box.
Leopards were still reeling from the opening goal when Usuthu struck again five minutes later, Memela bagging his second of the evening with a well-placed header into the top-left corner from the centre of the danger area.
The visitors tried to mount a late comeback but to no avail as later efforts from Dax and Kabwe failed to hit the target.
- TEAMtalk media
