Marcello Allende saved the day for Mamelodi Sundowns when he scored a last minute goal to guide the Brazilians to a 1-0 victory over the stubborn AmaZulu during a fast flowing Dstv Premiership match on Sunday afternoon.
Sundowns approached this match, which took place at the Loftus Stadium in Pretoria, knowing very well that victory in this encounter will see them open the much needed gap between themselves and those trailing behind them on the log.
Usuthu were forced to commit some foolish mistakes in the first half of the match but Sundowns failed to convert any of them to goals. It was only in the 6th minute where the Brazilians came close to scoring after Usuthu’s Makhehleni Makhaula was judged to have bad tackled Sipho Mbule on the right wing, but Peter Shalulile wasted that free kick when he shot wide with the goalie at his mercy.
Sundowns’ rush for an early lead continued in the 17th minute but they were not lucky when Tebogo Mokoena’s attempt was blocked by the visitors’ solid defence.
The ball landed on Themba “Mshishi” Zwane who revived their scoring chance, however, lack of composure by the Tembisa-born star saw his right footed shot hit the bar from the right side of the box.
Again, Sundowns came twice close to breaking the ice, first in the 21st minute by Erwin Saarveda when he released a right footed thunder from the right side of the box but his attempt was blocked. AmaZulu fought back and their first chance attempt for a goal came in the 29th minute via Gabadinho Mhango who unleashed the right footed shot from the left side of the box but his goal-bound was saved in the centre of the goal-mouth.
The visitors continued to pile pressure on Sundowns, mesmerising their defence in search for a goal and they were almost rewarded when Keagan Buchanan, who was set up by Mhango almost saw the back of the net but it wasn’t meant to be as the latter’s right footed shot from outside the box went wild to the left of the upright in the 36th minute.
AmaZulu’s Veluyeke Zulu was first to be recorded in the referee’s bad books after he was shown a yellow card for a bad tackle on Sifiso Ngobeni.
Saarvedra showed more determination to guide Sundowns to a goal before the half-time but he shot his attempt for goal went to the top right corner. This was after the Bolivian international star connected from Sipho Mbule’s pass in the referee’s optional time of the first half.
What AmaZulu coach Brandon Truter told his charges at half-time seemed to have made sense to them as they came back strongly highly motivated as they began the second half on fire, throwing everything they had in their possession , searching for a leading goal. They indeed managed to crack the home side’s defence three minutes from the break with Zulu on the picture, but the Ulundi-born star, who was assisted by Buchanan from a corner, failed to convert his chance for a goal as his right footed shot from the close range missed the target in the 48th minutes.
Grant Kekana landed in trouble with the whistle-man who flashed a yellow card at him after the latter’s bad foul on Mhango in the 52nd minute.
In the 54th minute it was AmaZulu’s Buchanan who almost did an unthinkable thing when he released a long range right footed shot from a very tight angle from the left side but his shot went wide. Sundowns rose from the dead and this time with Mokoena releasing a right
footed shot from outside the box but his goal attempt went to the wrong direction in the left hand side of the net after he was assisted by Zwane in the 56th minute.
The match became more interesting after few replacements by both side in the late minutes of the match but the goal dry continued to be the order of the day despite some serious attempts by both opposing sides.
In the end it was Sundowns who had the last laugh after Allende put the matter beyond doubt when he scored.
By: Nakampe Lekwadu
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