Mpumalanga Black Aces moved to the 12th position of the Absa Premiership log after stunning Maritzburg United by 2 – 1 on Sunday at the Mbombela Stadium.

Played before an empty capacity, Aces dominated this clash from the first whistle until the end and deservedly bagged all three points, which saw them moving up the ladder.

It came as no surprise when Aces took the lead as early as the third minute through Tendai Ndoro after being beautifully set up by striker, Mabhuti Khenyeza.

While Aces was still celebrating their early lead, the visitors responded very well and pulled one back through Orlando Smeekes in the 12th minute of play

Aces had ample opportunities which were never converted to goals and were almost got punished on a number of occasions.

It wasn’t before long that the home team stole a winner in the 35th minute through Ofentse Nato’s cracker.

The second stanza saw Steve Khompela’s boys throwing everything at Aces but lack of experience played them down.

They did however got a penalty in the stroke of full time but Aces keeper, Jackson Mabokgwane saved the day and the three points for his team with a brilliant save he produce.

“We came here for a win. We needed the win so bad and I think we played well and according to our game plan.

In the second half they threw everything at us, but we survived and I think lucky was on our side.

Our plan now is to finish in a more respectable position, somewhere in the top eight and also have a good run in the Nedbank Cup,” said Aces coach, Clive Barker after the game.

His counterpart, the Maritzburg United coach, Khompela said, “We lost to a better team. Aces had a good game plan and they punished us.

We failed the consistency test today, but we will go back to the drawing board and give our all as we need to survive relegation.”