Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates dished out an entertaining 1-1 draw in front of a jam-packed Loftus Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The stalemate means that Sundowns remain at the top of the Betway Premiership log with 22 points, while the Buccaneers are third, having registered 19 points.
Both teams have played 11 rounds of matches this season.
The two in-form sides were evenly matched, and play swung from end to end with the strikers creating ample scoring opportunities. But it was Sundowns who opened the scoring after 15 minutes via Peter Shalulile. The Namibian marksman needed two chances to convert his goal after his initial strike was parried back into his path by Pirates shot-stopper Sipho Chaine. He happily slotted the goal from the rebound.
Pirates get their own back
Twenty minutes later, Bucs young gun Camren Dansin equalized with what is surely a contender for Goal of the Season. After Sundowns had cleared from a corner kick, Dansin unleashed a peach of a volley from outside the penalty box, and the rocket landed in the top corner, beating Sundowns and SA number one goalkeeper Ronwen Williams hands down.
Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou had been heavily criticized for throwing the 20-year-old Dansin in the deep end, but the youngster silenced his critics with the marvelous strike.
The match lost a bit of colour in the second half as the two teams huffed and puffed under Pretoria’s scorching heat. Towards the end, the game became more scrappy as compared to a pulsating first half. Sundowns evidently missed the services of influential midfielder Teboho Mokoena in the middle of the park. The Brazilians did not have that edge and could dominate their visitors, who were happy with the space given to them in the engine room.
Both teams will be back in league action on Wednesday, with Sundowns hosting TS Galaxy and the Buccaneers travelling to KwaZulu-Natal for a meeting with Golden Arrows at the King Goodwill Zwelithini Stadium.
