Polokwane City rallied from behind to secure a 2-1 win over AmaZulu in their Betway Premiership opener on Saturday night.
Usuthu coach Pablo Franco Martin gave a debut to striker Etiosa Ighodaro following his move from Mamelodi Sundowns, while Bafanna Bafana goalkeeper Veli Mothwa was back in goal.
As for Rise and Shine, talisman Oswin Appollis was not included in the match day squad amid the links with Kaizer Chiefs, especially after Sporting Director Kaizer Motaung Junior confirmed the interest.
While Appollis' absence was a talking point, Ighodaro introduced himself to the Usuthu supporters in fine style by opening the scoring on 29 minutes with a lovely header from Rian Hanamub's cross.
However, Rise and Shine managed to pull themselves level on the stroke of halftime when captain Bulelani Nikani nodded home a free-kick from Cole Alexander to open his account for the season.
The hosts pushed for a second goal after the break and went close just before the hour mark, but Manuel Kambala saw his header turned away by Mothwa after getting on the end of Alexander's cross.
Usuthu refreshed their stall with 15 minutes to play, as Augustine Mulenga and Abbubaker Mobara were introduced for the season debuts, with Ben Motshwari and Rowan Human dropping out.
With the game seemingly headed for a draw, Thabang Matuludi snatched the winning goal in the 90th minute after pouncing Mothwa's handling error in the box to slot home 12 yards outs.
Confirmed line-ups:
Polokwane City: Sapuga, Matuludi, Nkwe, Nikani, Nkaki, Kambala, Nana, Maphangule, Chauke, Alexander, Ramabu
Subs: Mathebula, Makhubela, Ndlovu, Maswansayi, Sithole, Daniels, Dlamini, Marema, Tshabalala
AmaZulu: Mothwa, Jooste, Hanamub, Gumede, Fielies, Motshwari, Ngema, Human, Dion, Ighodaro, Mbanjwa,
Subs: Mzimela, Ngobeni, Mngonyama, Mphahlele, Mobara, Brooks, Moremi, Mulenga, Ndlovu