IT WOULD now take a miracle of extreme proportion for AmaZulu to avoid relegation following another defeat yesterday.

A side that has hardly moved from their position at the bottom of the Absa Premiership table, Usuthu went down 3-0 away to Bloemfontein Celtic at the Free State Stadium.

It all went pear-shaped when defender Mbulelo Mabizela was sent off by referee Victor Gomes for a swinging elbow only half an hour into the game. Soon after they were reduced to 10-men, Lerato Lamola opened the scoring - setting up for an easy stroll to victory.

Celtic piled on the pressure in the second half and forced AmaZulu defender Carlington Nyadombo to head the ball into his own net. Usuthu were blunt upfront despite throwing in three strikers in search of only their second win in the league this season.

AmaZulu's woes escalated when Celtic were awarded a penalty just before the hour mark. Robin Johannes was adjudged to have handled the ball from Keegan Ritchie's free kick and Lamola stepped up to score his second and Celtic's third of the afternoon. He converted the spot kick for the second time after Gomes had ordered a retake.

Gomes, often the main attraction when he is the whistleman, spared Usuthu another red card when left-back Marc van Heerden went in with a flying tackle to bring down Dumisani Zuma but only received a warning from the match official. AmaZulu, are fast running out of matches and are hot favourites for automatic relegation.