Maritzburg faced some anxious moments early on in the game and conceded a goal from a defensive lapse.

But as the game went on, The Team of Choice got stronger and stronger, equalising just before the break and then having the better of the second half.

With seven players in the starting line-up making their debut for the club, it was perhaps not surprising that United took a while to get going.

”The players didn’t quite gel in the first half and they were also a bit nervous. We were not competitive enough and gave the ball away too much – our combinations didn’t come off,” Igesund told the club website.

Man-of-the-match, midfielder Musa Nyatama, also revealed that a stern half time talk by Igesund had helped change things around.

”The coach told us that we were giving our opponents too much respect,” said Nyatama, who had an excellent game in a deep midfield holding role.

There were several other players who put in note-worthy displays, not least of which was defender Peter Petersen, who stuck like glue to SuperSport danger-man Daine Klate, which helped to limit the Pretoria side’s attacking options.

Overall, Igesund was pleased with the showing – his new-look side’s first competitive outing of the season.

”Considering that we have not played any serious friendly matches, and that eight players played their first game for the club, a 1-1 draw against the league champions was a good result.

”It was a very positive start and we can look to push on and improve from here,” said Igesund.

United’s next game is against Wits in Johannesburg on Wednesday 19 August.

Igesund revealed that left back Elias Ngwepe will be back from suspension for the game, while Senegalese defender Mor Diouf, still finding his feet at the club, could come into contention.

”Diouf is a fantastic player, but he is still learning to speak English, so I was worried that for our first game, communication could be a problem,” said Igesund.