Haashim Domingo strike fires Durban City back to winning ways after Marumo Gallants triumph

Durban City got their season back on track with a 1-0 win over Marumo Gallants in their Betway Premiership encounter at Chatsworth Stadium on Wednesday.

A composed second-half strike from Haashim Domingo rewarded City’s persistence, ending their two-match losing streak and securing their fourth league win of the season. Gallants, meanwhile, left KwaZulu-Natal empty-handed after suffering back-to-back defeats following their recent loss to Golden Arrows.

Gavin Hunt’s side have been one of the surprises of the campaign, but consecutive losses had stalled their momentum, undoing the early-season promise that marked them out as more than just a newly promoted team.

The KZN outfit came into the match in ninth place, facing a Gallants side sitting tenth and separated by only two points. With the opportunity to climb the table and finish the night in the top half, both sides approached the opening stages cautiously, creating few clear-cut chances.

City dominated much of the possession but struggled to convert it into meaningful opportunities. Gallants, who had failed to keep a clean sheet in 16 of their previous league outings, stayed compact and looked to threaten on the counter.

After a 4-0 defeat to Abafana Bes’thende in their last league outing, Alexandre Lafitte’s charges were far more disciplined this time around and held firm under pressure to go into the break level.

Approaching half-time, Bokang Mokwena gave the home side a golden opportunity to take the lead when his well-weighted cross found Domingo in the box, but the attacker’s tame effort was comfortably gathered by Gallants goalkeeper Washington Arubi.

The second half followed a similar pattern — City probing patiently while Gallants looked to pounce on the break.

The breakthrough finally arrived in the 79th minute thanks to a well-crafted move. Samkelo Maseko threaded a precise through ball to Domingo, whose deft first touch left him one-on-one with Arubi before calmly slotting home the winner.

The result lifted Durban City into the top eight heading into the international break, a timely confidence boost for Hunt’s men as they look to maintain their upward momentum in the second half of the season.