Andrew Muchineripi SOCCER
The goal was pure Sundowns. Calculated midfield passing, a sudden change of direction and pace, a quality cross and substitute Papi Mbele was in front of his marker like a flash to provide the clinical finish.
It arrived after 67 minutes on a crisp, cool midweek evening at Loftus Stadium in Pretoria, and confirmed what we suspected for so long would happen. Sundowns were Premier Soccer League champions again.
For the third consecutive year the team called the Brazilians had proved themselves the best football club in the land. A 4-1 victory over Bloemfontein Celtic gave them an unassailable nine- point lead over Orlando Pirates.
So instead of a potential championship decider against the Buccaneers at FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon, Sundowns can go there comfortable in the knowledge that only pride is at stake.
They gave their supporters a few anxious moments, did Sundowns, losing at home to Manning Rangers and away to Moroka Swallows when a win would have clinched the R1-million first prize.
Another opportunity was squandered when they drew 2-2 at Santos and some sceptics began to fear the worst. Could it be a repeat of 1987 when Kaizer Chiefs required just one point from four matches to clinch the title and failed?
Celtic needed a victory to push the race to the wire, and the absence of coach April “Styles” Phumo, defenders Fabian McCarthy and Willem Vries and strikers Lebohang Kukame and Stoffel Nikane clearly did not help their cause.
Nor did a moment of amateurish goalkeeping by vastly experienced Innocent Mayoyo do Phunya Sele Sele any favours. He really should have stopped a medium-range Bennet Mnguni shot with 14 minutes gone.
Instead a shot fired at him somehow found its way into the net past his right shoulder and Sundowns had the start they desperately needed to settle nerves and dispel fears that they were “chokers”.
You could almost see the tension fade from the Brazilians; and when they added a second goal midway through the first half orders must have gone out to give the trophy one final coat of polish.
Another cross, more hesitation in the Celtic defence, and up stepped Isaac Shai, a superstar among Sundowns stars, to rifle the ball past Mayoyo. It was time to get ready to open the champagne.
But as a match watched by a surprisingly large and vocal crowd meandered along to the midway point of the second half, Celtic pulled one goal back and tension returned to the faces of Sundowns officials.
Goalkeeper John Tlale could only parry a close-range shot and three Celtic headers later the ball was nestling in the net courtesy of a far-post nod from substitute Daniel Matsau.
Mbele struck four minutes later to restore calm and the former Vaal Professionals midfielder provided more icing for the cake in the closing stages with a close-range header past Mayoyo off a corner.
When the final whistle sounded, a long, white limousine crept on to the Loftus pitch, drove slowly to the podium and out stepped acting Premier Soccer League chief executive Leephile Taunyane with the trophy.
Even normally hypertense coach Paul Dolezar could manage a laboured smile. The seventysomething owners of the club, Abe and Solly Krok, were jiving like teenagers and Natasia and Angelo Tsichlas beamed pride.
To win the Castle Premiership requires a good team with strength in depth, to retain it requires a great team with strength in depth, to win it for three consecutive seasons almost defies description.
There are obvious lessons from the success of a club that can complete a unique treble if they defeat arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs in the Bob Save Super Bowl final on June 10 at FNB Stadium.
The first is the need for strong reserves. Sundowns could afford the luxury of taking off midfield general Roger Feutmba and striker Alain Amougou at half-time against Celtic and not miss a beat.
Lesson number two is players and coaches perform best when treated well and there is no club in South Africa that looks after the needs of its employees better. They get paid well, they get paid on time, and the rest is history.
Point number three is ensuring you have the right players,which Sundowns certainly do, and the right technical team, which they certainly do with Dolezar and former Bafana Bafana captain Neil Tovey combining well.
So where now for the Brazilians? Apart from the obvious desire to add the Super Bowl to the Rothmans Cup and Premiership trophies, the club have the African Champions League to aim for. Esperance of Tunisia, Africa Sports of Ivory Coast and Sable Batie of Cameroon represent a standard of opposition not normally found at home. I congratulate them for what they have achieved and wish them well in future challenges.