Mamelodi Sundowns registered their 14th straight win in the PSL when they scored a hard-fought 2-0 victory over a determined Sekhukhune United at the Loftus Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Brazilians are strolling to their sixth successive league trophy – they are now on 52 points after 20 matches and they have opened up a 22-point gap over second placed Richards Bay United who are playing their next match on Sunday against AmaZulu.
Last Tuesday, Sundowns stretched their winning streak to 13 games after they nailed TS Galaxy 2-1 in Mbombela.
But against the Limpopo side under scorching conditions in Pretoria, they struggled to stamp their authority. In the 15th minute, Neo Maema pulled the trigger from outside the box but United’s goalkeeper Badra Sangare was equal to the task and parried the ball for a corner kick. Maema was given another opportunity to score but he ballooned his shot over the goalposts.
Sundowns goal scoring-machine Peter Shalulile got a sniff at goals but his tame shot was stopped by the alert Sangare. This was after a flowing move and a beautiful cross from Sifiso Ngobeni on the left.
Shalulile opened the scoring after 50 minutes via a tap-in from Maema. It was the Namibian’s eighth goal of the season. Super-substitute Cassius Mailula came on late in the second half and he increased the lead and made it 2-0 after rolling the ball into the net, following some hard running from Thapelo Morena on the left.
United, on the other, should be proud of their performance. They were unfortunate and they scored two goals that were ruled off-sides. Since new coach Brendon Truter took over Kaitano Tembo, Ba Bina Noko had been unbeaten in five matches, winning three games on the trot and drawing one. Before Truter’s arrival, they were languishing at the bottom of the table, but they have risen to the top five. In their last game Truter defeated Swallows FC 1-0, the team where he made a name for himself.
United supporters were hoping to see their signing and former Bafana Bafana international Kamohelo Mokotjo in action, but he was not in the team.
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