Durban — Amadou Sokouna scored a first-half brace, while Friday Samu netted the third as Maritzburg United impressively dispatched Royal AM 3-1 at the Harry Gwala Stadium Sunday.
The Team of Choice moved off the foot of the table with the victory and into 15th on the DStv Premiership log, while Royal AM dropped to 10th - seven points off CAF competitions places.
Sokouna, who was making his first start in six matches, opened the scoring for the hosts in the 35th minute .
The French forward was delightfully played through for a one-on-one with Royal's goalkeeper Patrick Nyame by Karim Kimvuidi and after settling himself, he put enough power behind his shot to score.
The same duo combined once more on the stroke of half-time to double Maritzburg's lead.
Congolese midfielder Kimvuidi intercepted the ball on the halfway line before driving all the way into the opposition box and with his attempt having bounced off the upright, Sokouna reacted quickest and pounced, tapping home from close range.
Samu, who had been dropped from the starting XI also got himself on the scoresheet after coming off the bench to score in stoppage time. Mfundo Thikazi managed to pull one back for the visitors later in added time as he dribbled his way into the box before firing past the goalkeeper in the near post.
It was a Maritzburg side looking to build on their first victory under head coach Fadlu Davids that welcomed a confident Thwihli Thwahla outfit, also coming off an impressive win over AmaZulu last week.
The Team of Choice have spent the better part of the season in and around the relegation zone and their desperation for points cannot be understated. Having gone down by two goals in the opening stanza, Royal AM returned with renewed vigour as they sought a way back into the encounter in the second half.
The home side seemed to have altered their structure in the second half to try and preserve their advantage as they sat deep and allowed Royal AM 73% of the possession.
It worked a treat as Maritzburg were able to hold on in the end and will look to continue their fine form in another local derby against Golden Arrows next weekend.
IOL Sport