Mamelodi Sundowns are stealing a march on their rivals Orlando Pirates and are now 18 points clear at the top of the Betway Premiership after a hard-fought 2-0 win over AmaZulu at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville on Tuesday night.
It was Sundownsā 11th win in as many matches at home and the sun is slowly setting for the chasing pack who were hoping that they could still catch the flying Brazilians. Masandawana are opening an unassailable lead at the top of the PSL table and only the Buccaneers die-hard supporters will still believe that they can keep up the pace with the log-leaders.
Pirates, who were scheduled to face Stellenbosch FC on the same night, dropped two points after they were held to a 0-0 draw by Stellenbosch FC at the Athlone Stadium. Pirates are on 40 points after 18 matches while Downs are sitting pretty on 58 points having played 22 games. The Buccaneers can console themselves with the fact they have four games in hand, and mathematically, they are still in with a chance of toppling Sundowns.
Stellies coach Steve Barker was content with the draw against the Buccaneers who have some of the most outstanding players in the league. Barker considered the one point they gained as a win after they played with 10-men for most part of the match. His star player Sihle Nduli was awarded the Man of the Match accolade after an amazing shift on the night ā he worked tirelessly and contributed immensely to his clubās impressive performance.
Sundownsā scoreline may suggest that it was an easy victory and an easy day in the office, but Usuthu put up a brave fight and had the Brazilians in all sorts of trouble throughout the match.
Peter Shalulile opened the scoring for Sundowns in the 57th minute before Arthur Sales wrapped things up for the home side with a well-crafted goal with three minutes remaining on the clock. Lucas Ribeiro Costa turned a defender inside out on the right and parted for Sales who imitated his countryman before drilling home the winning goal.
Sundowns will now switch their focus to Sundayās massive league encounter against Pirates at the FNB Stadium. That match will go a long way in deciding the destination of the inaugural Betway Premiership. Ā
