Appollis shines as Polokwane City return to winning ways in style

Oswin Appollis inspired Polokwane City to a 3-1 victory over Richards Bay in the Betway Premiership match at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday to end their eighth-match winless run across all competitions.

The last time they won was on February 1 when they beat Chippa United 1-0,  but they returned to winning ways in style on Sunday.

Appollis was involved in all three goals Rise and Shine scored after he delivered an impressive performance to inspire his side. Appollis continued where he left off at Bafana Bafana, where he came off the bench to create a goal scored by Jayden Adams against Benin in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers last week.

Rise and Shine were desperate to end their winless run and came to this match at the back of a 0-2 defeat to Chippa United in their last game before the Fifa break.

The Natal Rich Boyz, on the other hand, were looking to build on their 2-0 victory over Kaizer Chiefs in their last fixture and also improve their away record, which saw them collect six points on the road this season. But it was not to be.

The home side opened the scoring when Lebohang Nkaki headed home an Appollis delivery from a short corner in the 21st minute.

Bay had chances to equalise but failed to convert them as Polokwane took a slender 1-0 lead to the interval.

The Natal Rich Boyz continued to search for the equaliser, and their efforts were rewarded when Justice Figareido found the back of the net seven minutes after halftime when he headed home from Thulani Gumede’s excellent delivery to make it 1-1.

But Polokwane restored their lead a few minutes later from another set-piece delivery as Simon Ramabu headed home after Appollis was involved in the delivery.

Appollis was also involved in the third goal when he won a penalty after he was brought down, and Nkaki converted to make it 3-1 and complete his brace.

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