Sundowns continue their winning streak

It appears it will take something quite special to stop Rulani Mokwena’s Mamelodi Sundowns in their winning streak.

This after Sundowns registered their 14th successive win even with a man down as they defeated Sekhukhune United 2-0 in a DStv Premiership fixture at Loftus Stadium in Pretoria yesterday.

Peter Shalulile and the young, extremely gifted Cassius Mailula scored in the second half as Sundowns got closer to their sixth successive title. The runaway league leaders continued their excellent run despite second-half substitute Marcelo Allende being sent off for a horrible tackle.

Different coaches and teams have tried many methods which include sitting at the back or going toe-to-toe with Sundowns but none have worked.

As part of their plan to beat Sundowns, Sekhukhune apparently stopped their players and technical team from speaking to the media as that would have been an “unwanted distraction”.

But it was all in vain as they still got a beating. While Sekhukhune’s form has not been great, the men from Polokwane took on the Pretoria giants at the back of four victories on the trot. Sundowns coach Mokwena made four changes to the team that won 2-1 against TS Galaxy. Sipho Mbule, who has not enjoyed a lot of game time this season, was one of the standout performers against Sekhukhune. He also shined in the game against Galaxy and presents Mokwena and his technical team with a great selection headache.

When the two sides met earlier in the season, Sekhukhune were able to force a draw against Sundowns and that is a result they would not have been too disappointed with yesterday. The first half failed to produce a goal in spite of an array of chances. The visitors had a glorious opportunity to take the lead in the opening minutes, but their striker Victor Letsoalo could not capitalise on the mistake of Downs defender Brian Onyango.

After that it was Downs who dominated the game and spent most of the time with the ball in Babina Noko’s half. The hosts created numerous chances but their players including Shalulile, Neo Maema and Thapelo Morena failed to score. Credit, however, must also be given to

Sekhukhune’s goalkeeper Badra Sangare who made a few crucial saves in the second half. But it took Shalulile just five minutes into the second stanza to put Sundowns ahead and score his ninth goal of the season. The Namibian forward pounced on what looked like a goal attempt by Gaston Sirino.

After conceding, Brandon Truter’s Sekhukhune looked better and took the game to Sundowns, unlike in the first half when they were sitting back defending. They scored two goals but both of them were ruled offside.

Mailula came off the back to get on the scoresheet with a beautiful goal.

Meanwhile Orlando Pirates put themselves in a good position to fight for the second spot in the DStv Premiership when they notched up their third consecutive win of the season after beating bottom-placed Marumo Gallants 2-0 in front of a boisterous crowd at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium last night.

Monnapule Saleng and Phillip Ndlondlo scored in either half in Rustenburg to ensure the Buccaneers remain on the fourth spot and just two points off second-placed Richards Bay FC, who play AmaZulu FC in the KwaZulu-Natal derby today.